The Girl Next Door
by Brightest Firefly
Summary: Season 1 AU: What if Dawn had gotten a house in the numbered streets in Newport? Would Marissa stay with Luke? Would Summer notice Seth? Includes S1 and S2 characters. RL, SS, LM, ZA
1. Moving Day

**Chapter 1: Moving Day**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's Note: This is my first AU and I'm not entirely sure where I want to go with this. It was just an idea that came to me when I was watching the first season again. This picks up after The Girlfriend, but during the time between the The Gamble and The Girlfriend, Ryan's mom was looking for a place to get settled in Newport. Luke and Marissa never broke up, and Seth has made no progress with Summer. Please R/R!

"It really is gonna be different this time, Ry," Dawn assured her son in a tone that pleaded for forgiveness for all the times it _hadn't_ been different and he'd had to take care of her when it should have been the other way around.

He nodded and she wondered if he was listening to her at all. His mind seemed to be back at the Cohens, with Seth and Marissa. He had looked heartbroken as he'd walked away from them and it pained her to see that her son had grown to love strangers so quickly.

"A.J. and I are done for good."

Ryan raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything. She pulled up to the house she'd told him about, the house in the numbered streets of Newport. "So, what do you think?"

There was no furniture scattered across the lawn and the house looked well kept. A few bushes lined the front porch and the mailbox looked like it'd only been hit by a car a couple times. "I think it's great, Mom," Ryan replied, reciting what he knew she needed to hear. Dawn embraced him. "I've gotta go call Seth. He made me promise to call as soon as we got here."

Up until the previous night, Ryan had been staying with the Cohens. He had started a job at the Crab Shack, which he was glad he would be able to keep. Donny had taken him to some parties and they had been blissfully familiar. They were the kind of people that Ryan knew how to handle. Cotillion had been a nightmare. He had initially been paired with Anna, a girl from Pittsburgh, and she was cool, but Summer had somehow talked Marissa into pairing Anna with Seth and her with Ryan.

Ryan didn't feel right being with Summer, knowing that Seth had been in love with her for years. At first, Seth had glanced over at them every few seconds, warning Ryan with his eyes. But luckily Seth and Anna were really hitting it off and Seth was distracted by his conversation with her. Summer wasn't quite as bad as he had thought she would be. She'd opened up to him a little bit, and he might even consider her a friend at this point. In a weird and twisted sort of way.

When the phone rang at the Cohen's house, Seth practically jumped on it to answer it. He'd been crushed that Ryan would no longer be living with them but he was thrilled that he was staying in Newport. "Hello?"

"Hey Seth, it's-"

"Ryan! Hey. So you're there? How's your mom? 'Cause you know if things aren't going well…"

Ryan rolled his eyes. He'd been gone for fifteen minutes. "It's good so far."

Seth tried to hide the disappointment in his voice, knowing it was selfish. "Good."

"So have you talked to Anna since Cotillion?"

"Yeah, actually we're going to Comicon together this weekend. Do you wanna come?"

"I should stay here and help my mom get settled. When do you guys start school?"

"And by you guys, you must mean 'we'…"

"We?"

"My dad thinks you should go to Harbor. He said it would better prepare you for college than Newport Union."

"College? Seth, I'm not going to college. And I'm not going to Harbor. I can't afford that."

"You have to go to Harbor. And my parents are going to pay for it."

"I can't let them do that."

"Okay, you try and tell my dad that." Knowing that he couldn't win this argument, Seth handed the phone off to Sandy mouthing, _It's Ryan._

"Hey kid."

"Hey, listen about Harbor, I appreciate it, but…"

"If you go to Harbor, you'll probably be able to get some really good scholarships for college. They have really high average for SAT scores, and yours are already so high, having Harbor on your transcript might just be the extra push you need."

"I'm not going to college," Ryan insisted.

Sandy sighed. Ryan couldn't see his own potential, and Sandy wasn't about to let him throw away his dream, even if he didn't even realize he had a dream yet. "Would you do it for Seth?"

Ryan thought about his first night in Newport and it tugged at his heart. "Seth doesn't need me."

"He says he's going to go to Newport Union if you don't go to Harbor. So please Ryan, as a personal favor to Kirsten and I, and most of all to Seth, please let us do this."

Ryan sighed. "Okay."

"Okay?" Sandy was surprised that it had been that easy.

"Yeah. When do I need to register?" He was already wondering why he'd agreed to this. He wasn't looking forward to seeing Luke and Marissa together, but he figured he'd get over it soon.

Sandy smiled on the other end of the line. "Next Monday. I'll swing by and pick you up."

"Okay."

"Bye, Ryan."

Ryan bit his lip nervously. "Hey Sandy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Ryan said so softly that Sandy had to strain to hear him.

Dawn knocked on the door to Ryan's bedroom. "Ry?"

"Yeah?"

She walked into his room and stood beside the bed. "I don't know if the Cohens talked to you about this, but they want you to go to Harbor."

"Yeah, I know."

"And I think you should." She sat down beside him. "I know you have dreams Ry, and I don't want you to throw away the chance to make them come true." She ran her hand through his hair, and it was the first time in a long time that she'd acted like a mother. "You're the smart one you know."

Ryan forced a half smile. "Okay."

A silence hung in the air and Dawn wondered if Ryan was angry with her, and if he wished he was back with the Cohens. She certainly wouldn't blame him if that was the case. "So, I just went and met our neighbors. There's a girl about your age."

"Hmm," Ryan mumbled without interest. He was still in the brooding phase over Marissa.

"She's going to be going to Harbor too, and since we only have one car and I'm going to need it to go to work, she's going to drive you to and from school."

"Okay." He'd stopped listening and was getting lost in his thoughts about Marissa. When he saw her and Luke leave Caleb's birthday party, his hands roaming over her body as she giggled with delight, he had felt like he'd been punched in the gut. _Maybe I should have just taken Gabrielle up on her offer last night,_ he thought. They had had a heavy make out session in the pool house, but the moment she'd reached for the buckle on his belt, he stopped her and said they should get back to the party.

"Sometime before school starts, go over there and say hello."

"Okay."

"Ryan, are you even listening to me?"

"What? Sorry Mom, I was just thinking."

Dawn smiled tenderly. "I know you've got a lot on your mind. I'll leave you alone. I've got to do some job hunting."

She left, shutting the door behind her and Ryan flopped down on the bed. He wondered if things really would be different this time, but the Cohens had assured him that if it didn't work out, he was welcome back with them. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Ryan glanced out the window.

He opened the door to find Seth nervously tapping his foot. "We've got a major crisis on our hands. I need your help."

"Seth, I think you need more help than I could possibly give you." He opened the door for Seth to come in.

"Oh, so you're funny now?" Ryan only smirked at him. "I'm glad my pain amuses you. Anyway, Anna and I are going to Comicon together, just the two of us."

"How romantic," Ryan replied dryly, as the two sat down on the extremely ugly, but comfortable couch in the living room.

"I know, isn't it? But here's the thing: I've never even been on a date with a girl and we're going to be spending the night together in a hotel room!"

"Are you guys even dating?" Ryan inquired. He'd quickly learned that Seth tended to jump to conclusions.

"I'm not sure. We haven't really talked about it, we've just been spending a lot of time together and…oh no. What if she just likes me as a friend? That's probably all it is to her, and I'm freaking out over nothing."

"Just relax and see how this weekend goes."

"Relax? Ryan, do you know me at all?"

He gave a small smile. "It'll be fine."

"You know what? You're right. I'll just be all cool about it and let Anna make the first move." They sat in silence for a brief moment, but Seth soon broke the silence. "So that shark movie is playing at the IMAX tonight."

Ryan surprised both of them when he broke into a full out grin. "I've been wanting to see that."

Seth noticed that Ryan was trying to stop himself from laughing. "Fine, I'll just go by myself and give your ticket to Chester."

Ryan laughed. He hadn't felt this good in years. Something about the Cohens helped him to forget everything that had gone horribly wrong in his life. He was beginning to think that maybe they could be trusted.


	2. The Harbor Scene

**2: The Harbor Scene**

Note: Thank you for the suggestions, and I did consider pairing Ryan and Summer because I love stories with them together, but I've decided not to go that route, at least for now. At this point, I don't want anything to come between Ryan and Seth. R/R!

* * *

After the highly anticipated shark movie, Seth drove Ryan back to his mom's house. When Ryan stepped out of the car, Seth hesitated, trying to find something to say to spend more time with Ryan. "You wanna come over for dinner tonight?"

Ryan looked torn. "Can't. My mom's out job hunting so I thought I'd make dinner for her."

"That's very minty of you, and I respect that." Seth continued to fidget. "So tomorrow?"

Ryan smiled. It was small, but Seth didn't miss it. "Sure."

"Bring your mom?" Seth asked timidly.

"I'll see if she can come." Ryan knew his mother was a bit intimidated by the Cohens, but he hoped that after she got to know them, she'd be more at ease with them.

"Do you work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I get off at four."

"Sweet, I'll pick you up from work then and we can get a little pool time in."

"All right, later man." Ryan shut the car door, and watched as Seth pulled out of the driveway. He sat down on the front step, resting his chin on his hands and mindlessly studying an ant scurrying across the pavement. He was starting to feel rather nervous about going to school at Harbor. He'd only been in Newport a few weeks, and the drama with girls was already more than he could handle. Marissa liked him, but not enough to break up with Luke, Summer seemed to like him at first, but now she was fighting to keep her crush on Seth a secret, he had almost hooked up with Holly, and to top it all off, all three girls were best friends.

A girl sitting outside the house next to his looked at him quizzically, trying to figure out a way to approach him, but he looked too lost in thought and she quickly returned to the book that had held her attention for the last couple hours. Since she'd noticed him, the amount of red dots on her pages had doubled. Her mom had volunteered her to take the guy to school every day, and at first she had protested, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe they'd even be…friends. She sighed contentedly at this thought, and stole once last glance at him before diving back into her book.

* * *

Ryan glanced in the cupboards and wasn't surprised to find that they didn't have any food. He made a grocery list, and went to find his last paycheck. It was sitting on the dresser in his bedroom. It was a small, simple room, and he liked it. There were a few boxes on the floor, one filled with clothes that the Cohens had bought for him while he was staying with them, one with his books, pictures, and journals, and one with various items that had some kind of special meaning to him. He pulled out a framed picture of his family -his parents, Trey, and himself- and made a mental note to visit his dad and Trey. He pulled out a picture of him with the Cohens that had been taken at Cotillion and placed it in a frame beside the picture of the Atwood family.

He sifted through the books and laughed to himself when he saw Kavalier and Klay stashed among them. Seth had told him he had to read it, and Ryan had agreed that he would when he found the time. Of course Seth _would_ go the extra mile and put it in his things, because then Ryan would _have_ to read it. He opened the front cover and found a post-it note. In Seth's barely legible hand-writing, it said "United we're unstoppable."

Ryan thought back to the party that at Holly's beach house about a week ago. _Summer had invited Ryan and Seth. Marissa was there with Luke who had been quite irritated that Seth was there, and angry that Ryan was there. As Luke eyed them across the room, Marissa tried to calm him down._

"_No it's cool," he said with disgust in his voice. "Chino's obviously gay with that queer, Cohen." _

"_Cohen's gay?" Summer asked, her hands on her hips in annoyance. "Since when?"_

_Marissa gave Summer a strange look. "Since when did you know Seth existed?"_

_She looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Duh, Cotillion. Did you see the way he was hanging all over that girl from Pittsburgh?"_

"_Anna. Are you jealous or something? I thought you liked Ryan."_

"_I do!" She replied a little too quickly. "I mean, he's totally hot, what's not to like?" Summer missed the sadness in Marissa's eyes. "I was just saying that there's no way Cohen's gay. I saw him staring at my boobs like five times that night. _So_ not gay."_

_Marissa was puzzled by Summer's statements, but rather than question it, she turned to search for Ryan and Seth. When her eyes landed on Ryan and she finally managed to make eye contact with him, he quickly looked away, his face seeming to turn to stone. Once again, she wondered if she'd made the right decision in choosing Luke._

_Ryan had spent that evening chatting with several girls. He had chatted politely with Summer, but knowing Seth's feelings about her, he had no intentions of hooking up with her. Even with Anna in the picture, he knew that a first crush, especially one that lasted that long, didn't go away over night. Holly was coming on to him pretty strong, and with alcohol and hormones clouding his judgement, he'd given serious thought (if you could call it that) to asking if she wanted to go upstairs. She beat him to the punch, but just as he was about to comply, he saw Luke shove Seth into a table, knocking over a bowl of punch. "Some other time?" he asked, looking at Holly apologetically. _

_She rolled her eyes. "Luke was right. You and Cohen totally a couple."_

_Deciding not to dignify that with a response, Ryan bit his tongue and walked away from Holly. He assessed the situation with Luke and Seth and briefly debated which route to take. Stand up to Luke, potentially violating his parole, or getting himself and Seth out of there ASAP. His logic overruled his anger. "Seth, you ready to go?"_

_Seth was clearly at least somewhat drunk as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Ryan, the party's just getting started!"_

"_I think you've partied enough for tonight," Ryan replied sternly in an almost fatherly voice. Truthfully he found drunk Seth entertaining when Luke was nowhere around._

"_You and your boyfriend need to get out of here."_

_Summer looked from Luke to Ryan to Seth. "Luke, stop being such a jerk."_

_Everyone within earshot looked at Summer in shock, and Seth's jaw nearly hit the floor. Glaring at her, Luke started to walk away. "I'm out of here." Marissa stood there looking awkward for a moment before Luke grabbed her hand. "Let's go, Marissa."_

_Thankful to have avoided a fight, Marissa gave Summer, Ryan, and Seth and apologetic look and followed Luke. Ryan stared after her with a pained expression until Summer interrupted his train of thought. "Okay, enough with the brooding!"_

_Ryan slowly looked at her. "I could have handled that."_

"_Duh," she replied, rolling her eyes. "But this way, there won't be more punch stains on Holly's floor."_

_Ryan gave her a small smile._

"_So you're, like, staying with the Cohens?"_

_He studied the pattern of the floor. "Yeah, just until my mom finds a place."_

"_Huh…So is Cohen really as weird as he seems?" She asked, trying to sound casual._

_Ryan tried to contain his grin. "More so."_

The phone rang, and Ryan jumped to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey," a voice on the other end of the line said nervously.

"Marissa?"

"Yeah, I was just calling to…um…how are things going with your mom?"

Ryan's hand rubbed against his temple in frustration and confusion. "Good. Things are good." When she didn't reply, he lightly added, "She still sober, so…"

Marissa laughed softly. "That's always a good thing." A moment of awkward silence passed. "So Seth said you'd be going to Harbor."

"Yeah."

"Great, so we can all hang out."

"Sure, Seth, Summer, you, me, and Luke." He winced at the bitterness he heard in his voice.

"I'm really sorry about Luke, he just gets sort of territorial."

Several thoughts were running through Ryan's mind. He knew Marissa liked him, but he couldn't keep playing this cat and mouse game. "Right, so I'll see you at school?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, bye," he hung up before anything more could be said.


	3. Road Trips

Note: I don't own anything. Also, I don't know anything about comics, so I'm just going to graze over the details of that. Since this is an AU, I decided that Luke has never cheated on Marissa, and except for being mean to Seth and Ryan, he's basically a good guy.

* * *

Anna and Seth left for Comicon early Friday morning, chatting animatedly about their favorite super heroes.

"Superman? Why?" Seth asked Anna as if her answer was completely crazy.

"He's fascinating," she replied simply. "Okay, so which do you like better: Wonder Woman or Catwoman?"

Seth drummed is fingers on the steering wheel as he thought about it. "Wonder Woman. That's the stuff teenage fantasies are made of."

"Okay, over-share, Cohen."

"Sorry."

After a brief and semi-awkward silence, Anna reached for something to talk about. "So, if you don't mind my asking…what's the deal with Summer?"

Anna regretted asking when his face fell. He shrugged noncommittally. "Just a girl I've sort of liked for awhile."

"Have you told her?"

"Negative. I don't think it would go over too well."

Anna knew she was prying, but he seemed to want to talk. "Why not?"

Seth laughed nervously. "Summer is sort of…out of my league."

"You think there's no way she'd be interested?"

"Pretty much…yeah."

"Maybe you shouldn't assume that," she said, recalling the icy looks Summer had given her at Cotillion.

Seth turned to look at her skeptically. "Look Anna, it's just a crush. Even if she did like me, she'd never go out with me, and I'm not going to keep kidding myself."

"Well," Anna started carefully, "Maybe it's time for you to move on. Find someone new."

"Right," he replied flatly. "Because it's just that simple."

She sighed. He just wasn't getting what she was saying at all. "Pull over."

"What?" He glanced at her with confusion.

"I said, pull over, Seth."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

The urgency in her voice nearly drove him to slam on the breaks, but he managed to come to a safe stop on the shoulder of the road. "Okay, now why are we stopped?"

She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to his side of the car. Before he knew what was happening, she was nudging his lips open with hers.

* * *

With Seth out of town, Ryan didn't know what he was going to do with the weekend. On Friday afternoon, Summer called to see if he and Seth wanted to go down to Tijuana with the gang.

The idea of returning to his Chino lifestyle for a weekend was quite appealing, and he knew that it would get his mind off Marissa, as long as he didn't spend the whole weekend around her and Luke. But without Seth, most of the weekend would be spent around Summer. He enjoyed her company, but it was awkward. Ryan hadn't admitted his feelings for Marissa to Summer, or anyone else besides Seth, and Summer was clearly trying to deny her attraction to Seth by distracting herself with Ryan.

While Ryan could admit to himself that a part of him really enjoyed watching Marissa squirm whenever she saw him with Summer, he didn't like what it did to Seth. Ryan had promised him that he and Summer were just friends and that that's all it would ever be, but it still stung Seth's pride to see how Summer had quickly befriended Ryan. "I don't think that's such a good idea." Ryan hesitantly told Summer.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Well Seth's out of town this weekend, and I was going to help my mom out and Sandy wanted to hang out tomorrow." Even though Ryan was back living with his mother, she was more than happy that he and Sandy had developed a bond. Ryan liked having a man that he didn't have to be afraid of around, and he hadn't had that in a long time. He knew that while Sandy was naïve to a lot of his history, he could identify with him more than any other male role model he'd had and he could really look up to him.

"Seth's out of town? Where did he go?"

If Ryan wasn't mistaken, her voice almost held a tone of mild anger at not being informed of Seth's plans. "He went to a comic book convention this weekend." He paused before adding, "With Anna."

"You mean that pixie from Pittsburgh?" she shot back.

Ryan wasn't sure how to answer that. "…Yeah, she's from Pittsburgh."

Summer let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, well if I don't see you guys sooner, then I'll see you at school?"

"Yep."

"Okay, bye Ryan."

"Ryan? I didn't know you even knew my name."

"Shut up, Chino," she replied with a laugh. "Bye."

"Bye." They both hung up and Ryan decided he would get started on some of his chores, starting with mowing the lawn.

* * *

Holly, Luke, Marissa, and Summer were all piled into Brad's car and on their way down to Tijuana. Summer had been hoping to avoid this situation by catching a ride with Seth and Ryan, but Seth was off at some lame comic book convention. Marissa and Luke sat in the backseat, with Holly on the other side of Marissa, staring out the window miserably.

Holly glanced over at Luke longingly. It wasn't fair. He loved Marissa. He always had loved Marissa, and she took him for granted, almost cheating on him with some trailer trash from Chino. Holly knew that on some level, Luke had feelings for her as well, but his loyalty to Marissa always won out.

Every few minutes, Summer could feel Brad's eyes on her. It was making her nervous, and not in a good way. She and Brad had had a bit of a fling early in the summer, but it quickly fizzled when Brad found his next flavor of the week.

Marissa leaned her head on Luke's shoulder and sighed softly. "It's good to get out of Newport."

He kissed her forehead as he gently placed an arm around her. "Don't worry Babe, we'll get through this together."

She gave him a smile that was supposed to be reassuring. With all that happened with her family in the last few weeks, she was glad to have Luke to lean on. He was always there for her, and after what had almost happened with Ryan, she felt like she didn't deserve his loyalty.

* * *

Lindsay heard the blaring noise of a lawnmower from outside her window and looked out to find the boy mowing the lawn shirtless at the house next door. Her eyes widened as she watched his muscles move, his skin glistening with sweat.

When he looked in the general direction of her house, she snapped her head, turning away from the window. A deep blush covered her cheeks and she hoped he hadn't caught her staring. He disappeared inside for a moment, and reemerged with a tall glass of ice water. She watched his adam's apple bob with each swallow as he chugged most of it down and placed the glass on the front porch.

She heard the phone ringing inside the house and fought to tear her eyes away from him. "Hello?" She was surprised at the annoyance she heard in her voice.

"Hey Sweetie, could you do me a favor?"

Quickly changing her tone, Lindsay replied, "Sure," without hesitation.

"I was going to make a casserole for the new neighbors, but I'm going to be working late tonight. Could you make one and take it over this afternoon?"

Lindsay thought of the boy she'd gawked at mere minutes ago. "Uh huh…sure."

"Great, thank you so much."

"No problem."

"I probably won't be home until at least nine, so I'll see you then."

"Okay, bye Mom."

"Bye. Thanks."

After hanging up the phone, Lindsay tapped her foot nervously. It was time to meet the boy next door.


	4. Trouble in TJ

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. They really help get me motivated. I went back and started watching the first season again and I realize that I'm not really writing Ryan in character. But I have a fondness Season Two Ryan, so his broodiness is going to come out more isolated moments than as a general thing.

* * *

After a moment, Anna pulled away from Seth, looking into his eyes expectantly.

He stuttered nervously. "Um...uh...what just happened?"

"We kissed," Anna replied, feeling stupid for stating something so obvious. "Look, I'm sorry, I thought-"

"No, no," Seth rushed to stop her. "Don't be sorry, I just...wasn't expecting that."

"Well I guess I'm just full of surprises," she retorted, winking at him. Her seductive tone left him speechless.

An awkward silence came over them, and finally Seth started the car again. His mind raced with possibilities. He'd been kissed...by a girl! But the girl wasn't Summer. Then again Summer didn't even know he was alive. She probably still thought his name was Sid or Stanley.

As soon as they checked into the motel, Anna headed for the shower. When he heard the water running, Seth pulled out his phone and called the number he'd already memorized.

"Hello?" Ryan answered. He'd jumped out of the shower and thrown a towel over himself to get the phone and was now dripping water all over the floor. He was rather cold, but it was a relief from the heat of the sun.

"Anna kissed me," Seth blurted out just above a whisper. "Clearly we've crossed that 'friends' line."

"So you're over Summer?" Ryan asked doubtfully.

"That's the problem." Seth sighed exasperatedly, glancing over to the bathroom door, affirming that Anna was still in the shower. "Anna's cool, but she's...you know?"

"Not Summer?" Ryan offered.

"Exactly. But it's not like I'm ever going to get anywhere with Summer."

"She called today."

"Dude, don't rub it in," Seth stated, placing his face in his hands.

"No, she wanted to know if we wanted to go down to Tijuana with her, Holly, Brad..." his voice lowered as he quickly added, "Marissa, and Luke."

"And by 'we' you must mean you."

"No, she said 'We're going to Tijuana tomorrow and I was wondering if you and _Cohen _wanted to come.'"

"Well how about that? She does know my name. Well, my last name at least." Seth smiled widely.

"First name too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she sounded kind of pissed when I told her you went to Comicon with Anna."

Seth groaned. "You told her I went to Comicon? And that I brought Anna? Are you _trying _to salt my game?"

"Do you even know what that means?" Ryan asked bluntly.

"...No," Seth hesitantly admitted. "Do you?"

When Ryan didn't answer his question, Seth laughed a little. "The point is, there's nothing like a little competition to get a girl's attention."

"You're speaking from experience I take it?"

"Something like that," Ryan replied, refusing to give anything away.

"Okay, okay. So what's going on with you? Still moping about Marissa?"

"I'm over Marissa."

"Hmm, and what about Holly?"

Ryan sighed, casting a bored look at the ceiling. "What about her?" Truthfully, Ryan couldn't figure out what he'd been thinking the night he'd almost hooked up with her.

"Too bad my future grandma is gone." Seth teased. Ryan grunted in agreement. "So what are you doing for your last weekend of freedom?"

"I'm going to lunch with your dad tomorrow, but other than that, just taking it easy." The doorbell rang and Ryan tried to wrap up the conversation. "Someone's at the door, so I've gotta go."

"Okay, well have fun with that. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, all right?"

"All right," Ryan agreed. "And same goes to you!"

"I don't think I would even know how, unless your talking about some kind of skateboarding trick."

Ryan laughed in spite of himself. "See ya, Seth." As Ryan headed towards the door, he remembered that he was only wearing a towel. He threw on a pair of jeans and a wifebeater and headed towards the door, but when he finally got there, the visitor was gone. They'd left a pan on the doorstep containing mouthwatering casserole.

* * *

"Coop, don't you think you've had enough?" Summer asked.

After throwing back another shot, Marissa shook her head. "Where's Brad?" Marissa had been a bit distracted for a good part of the summer and wasn't really aware of what had transpired between Summer and Brad.

Summer rolled her eyes and made no effort to hide her disgust with him. "Like I care."

"That's right, you're into Cohen now, aren't you?"

Summer was a bit taken aback by the hostility in Marissa's voice. "Ew! No way."

"So go dance with Brad."

"Not a chance. After what happened this summer, he and I are so over."

As the crowd separating them from Brad cleared, they saw a petite blonde dancing with him, her curls bouncing as she moved. "Ah, looks like slutbag is taking care of him, anyway."

Summer swatted her friend's arm. "Marissa!"

"What? She is."

"Look, I know you're upset about your dad-"

"Summer!" Brad called out.

Thankful for the change of subject, Marissa lightly pushed Summer towards him, following behind. The lights and the thudding bass made the room rather dizzying, but Summer managed to make her way over to Brad. He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the main dance floor, leaving Holly and Marissa leaning against a railing, neither sure of what to do or say. "That's a really cute top," Holly said nervously, nearly having to shout over the blasting music.

Marissa smirked. "It's yours."

Holly's eyes pleaded with Marissa, but she was struggling to keep calm. She had to remind herself that Marissa was drunk and she'd always been an angry drunk. "That's between my dad and your dad. Not us, okay?"

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll have to drop out of Harbor. I know that that's what you've always wanted."

"Marissa!" Holly exclaimed. "You know that's not true." Seeing that she wasn't getting through, she held her hands up in surrender. "Look, let's just talk about this after the trip, okay? It's our last weekend of freedom."

Without answering, Marissa turned and walked away.

* * *

Lindsay checked her reflection in the mirror one last time before heading next door. She rang the bell and waited, quickly shifting her weight from one foot to the other and back again, nervously. When what seemed like an eternity had passed, and the boy still hadn't opened the door, she bent down and placed it on the step.

When she was back inside her house, she breathed a sigh of relief, and it was soon replaced with disappointment. _Oh well, I'll meet him soon enough. _She glanced out the window just in time to see him open the door and pick up the casserole. He glanced around, looking to see who might have left it, but when he didn't see anyone, he retreated to the house.

After bringing it into the house, he noticed a note taped to it that said, "Welcome to the neighborhood! From Renee and Lindsay." Ryan looked to the house beside his, where his mother said the girl he'd be car pooling with lived. Without hesitation, he went and knocked on the door. As he stood on the porch waiting, he became abnormally aware of his surroundings. The warm breeze felt heavenly on his bare arms, a faint rustling sound could be heard coming from the house, and the air smelled of freshly cut grass and home cooked food. But all that was forgotten when he heard the door click and a girl with long, strawberry-blonde hair and striking blue-green eyes stood in front of him with a bright smile.

"You must be Ryan."

He nodded. "And you're Lindsay?" She nodded. "Thanks for the dinner, you guys didn't have to..."

When he trailed off, Lindsay wasn't sure what to say. "Would you like to come in? Have some lemonade or something?" She couldn't believe how dorky she sounded, but he was smiling, so things must not be that bad.

He quickly went over everything he had left to do at home, and decided it could wait. "Sure."

* * *

Summer found herself getting more and more annoyed with Brad. In his drunken stupor, he was getting more and more friendly with her. "I'm going to go find Marissa." She pried his hand off of her hips as he nooded and looked for another girl to dance with. It was beginning to hit her how lame this all was.

She made a bee-line to Holly. "Hey, have you seen Coop?"

She shook her head. "We got into a fight about an hour ago. She's probably with Luke."

Summer glanced over and saw a clearly intoxicated Luke sitting at the bar alone. "I'm going to see if she headed back to the room. Call me if you see her, okay?" Holly nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, Summer arrived at the motel. The pills that Summer had picked up for the step-monster were spilled on the bed. "Marissa!" she called out. When there was no answer, she panicked. "Coop!" She found her in the bathroom draped over the toilet, unconscious, with a couple of the pain killers in her hand. She pried her hand open and counted the pills. She rushed back out to count the remaining pills and was relieved to discover that only one was missing. She put a cold wash cloth on her forehead. "Come on, Coop, wake up."


	5. Feelings Revealed

Author's Note: I don't own anything. Thank you so much for the reviews. Seriously, they totally make my day. You guys are awesome.

* * *

Time seemed to stand still while Summer waited for Marissa to regain consciousness. Her arm that was propping Marissa up was starting to feel numb. Gently, she propped her in her original position and called Luke. "Coop's passed out and I could use some help, here!"

Luke grunted something that Summer couldn't understand, and then hung up, but a few minutes later, he appeared in the doorway. "She okay?"

"I think so. She's breathing and her pulse is...low, but not too low."

Luke couldn't follow what Summer was saying and the room seemed to be spinning a little bit. He sat down on the floor beside Marissa, taking her in his arms. "Baby, wake up." He pushed her hair, damp from sweat, off of her forehead and kissed it. Marissa stirred slightly and her eyes opened just enough to meet Luke's gaze. They quickly closed again, and Luke called out to Summer, "She woke up!"

Summer ran back into the room and doubtfully eyed Marissa, who had closed her eyes and let her head fall back. "She did?"She looked just as lifeless as she had before. "Are you sure?"

Luke nodded, seeming a bit more sober. "Yeah. She just looked at me and then closed her eyes again, but she was conscious."

Summer knelt down beside her best friend. "Coop?" She patted the wash cloth against her cheeks and her eyes opened slightly. "Thank God! Luke, could you call Holly and let her know we're in the room?"

* * *

Anna and Seth returned to their room after a day filled with everything related to comic books. The convention had been a nice distraction from the girls in Seth's life, despite the fact that one of them was there with him, but back in the hotel room, when the commotion died down, his thoughts went back to Summer. _Why do I even like her?_ He thought back to elementary school, the first time he'd learned what it was like to have a crush. _It was early in the fall, and everyone was eating lunch outside. She sat at a table with the popular kids, and he was by himself, engrossed in a comic book. He glanced up and caught her eye, but she quickly looked away. His eyes followed hers to a couple of squirrels several feet away._

_They wrestled on the ground for a few moments before the chubbier of the two squirrels ran off with an acorn. He looked back to Summer who had an adorable pout on her face as she slowly walked towards the skinny squirrel. She held out a piece of her sandwich and placed it on the ground a few feet away from it. As it eagerly snatched the bread, Summer smiled, and Seth found himself gazing at her dreamily._

"Seth?" Anna's voice pulled him back to reality.

He felt his cheeks flush, feeling somewhat guilty for daydreaming about Summer while he was with Anna. "Yeah?" He struggled to meet her eyes.

"I'm going to go get a soda from the vending machine. Do you want anything?"

He pushed Summer out of his thoughts and smiled at the girl in front of him. "A Mountain Dew would be awesome."

She smiled back and her face seemed to glow. "Great, I'll be right back."

As soon as the door shut behind her, Seth reached into his bag and pulled out Captain Oats. He lied on his back, clutching the plastic horse. "I think you're right, Oats. It's time for me to realize that Summer is over."

* * *

After trying to call Holly's cell phone for half an hour, Luke opted to just walk back to the club and find her. He found her sitting with Brad, sipping a beer. Smugged mascara and traces of tears on her face made him a bit uneasy as he approached them. "Holly?"

She quickly wiped her eyes, and turned to look at him. "Hey Luke."

"Marissa's back at the hotel."

"I don't think she'll want to see me," Holly stated, trying to hide the emotion in her voice. Brad's angry stare was making Luke uneasy. He'd spent the last half hour listening to Holly pour her heart out and with his logic impaired, he blamed Luke for her tears.

"What? Why wouldn't she?" Luke looked completely clueless.

"You know, just...my dad and her dad."

"Oh," Luke nodded.

"Marissa is being a major bitch," Brad stated angrily.

Luke glared back at him. "What did you just call my girlfriend?"

"You heard me."

"Guys!" Holly shouted, jumping between them. "Let's not do this, okay? None of us is thinking clearly right now."

Brad and Luke continued to stare each other down until Brad turned to look at Holly. "Why do you take this from him?"

Holly's eyes widened and Luke looked confused. "Holly, what is he talking about? Take what from who?"

Brad shoved Luke, as Holly quietly tried to process what was happening. "Maybe if you could stop being such a little bitch and stop thinking your girlfriend is so perfect, you'd get it." When Luke showed no signs of understanding, Brad spelled it out. "Holly's in love with you, dumbass!"

Luke turned to look at Holly, who looked mortified as she turned to walk away. He caught her arm. "Wait."

Her tear-filled eyes met his. "Wait for what?"

* * *

Ryan's gaze remained on Lindsay while she poured two glasses of lemonade. She also tried to pick up a plate of cookies. Ryan realized her need for assistance and jumped up to help. He anticipated her movement wrong, and as she whirled around to face him, one of the glasses spilled down his chest and the front of his pants. He winced as he felt the cold seep through to his skin.

"Oh my gosh, I am _so _sorry."

"It's okay." He tried to hide the slightly pained expression on his face. "Don't worry about it."

She grabbed a towel and began patting his wifebeater with it, but when she realized the majority of the liquid had spilled below his chest, she looked up at his face, her cheeks flushing. "I'll um...let you handle that."

He smirked, amused at her frazzled state. As cute as he found it, he opted to put her out of her misery and changed the subject. "So, what's Harbor like?"

She struggled to keep her eyes on his face as he patted down his pants. "Actually, this is my first year at Harbor too."

"Oh, are you new to Newport?"

She shook her head. "I went to Newport Union for the last two years. I'm going to Harbor to load up on AP courses. From what I've heard about the social scene, I'm not really looking forward to that part."

Ryan nodded, grinning. "They're pretty wild. I've been to a few parties here. It was...interesting."

"Oh, so you already know some Harbor kids?"

"Yeah, a few. Some of them are really cool."

Lindsay wondered what 'cool' meant, coming from Ryan. Water polo players? Street thugs? "_Cool_, huh?"

Ryan considered his choice of words. "Well, maybe not exactly _cool_, but..." How do you describe Seth? "Real."

"Real is good." As Ryan gulped down the rest of his lemonade, the image of him shirtless and sweaty that she'd witnessed that afternoon came to mind. Her eyes quickly wandered over his defined jaw and his muscular arms. "Hot," she murmured to herself, thinking that with her head turned away from here, there's no way he would hear her.

Ryan eyed her curiously. "What?"

Uh oh. She thought quickly. "The weather. It's been really hot the past few weeks. Hopefully it'll cool down soon. It's too bad we don't have a swimming pool around here. There's always the beach, but I hate getting sand in places where sand should never be."

Ryan smiled. "I haven't been to the beach in years."

"Really?" After Ryan gave her an affirming nod, she grinned. "Then let's go!"

"Right now?"

"Sure, why not? It is our last weekend of freedom."

"Okay." Spontaneity wasn't a common thing for Ryan, but it sounded fun.

Lindsay grinned widely. "Great, I'll go change."

Ryan walked back to his house and scribbled a note for his mom. _Went to the beach with Lindsay. Hope you had a good day. Love, Ryan._

The next morning, Marissa awoke with a splitting headache. Summer had set some Tylenol and a glass of water beside the bed for her and was soon at her side. "How are you feeling, Coop?"

Marissa groaned, covering her face to block out the sunlight that filtered through the blinds. "Like I got hit by a truck. Multiple times." Summer sighed, exasperated and Marissa continued. "Okay, I know I've got a major lecture coming, but can it wait until later?"

"Tomorrow," Summer agreed.

"How much damage control do I have to do?"

"I don't know," Summer replied softly. "You'll have to ask Luke and Holly."

Marissa looked up to find them standing in the doorway. Luke gave her a concerned look. "How are you?"

"Really, really hung over." Marissa caught Holly's gaze, and sensing the tension, Luke and Summer quickly excused themselves. "I'm, uh...pretty fuzzy about last night, but I remember that we got into a fight about something." Holly nodded sadly, but offered no explanation. "Whatever I said, I'm sorry. It was just the alcohol talking."

"It's okay." Holly was feeling a combination of guilt and relief about Brad's drunken revelation to Luke. If Luke remembered it, he was pretending that he didn't and Brad didn't have a clue. A part of her wanted Luke to know and she hoped that he would leave Marissa. With the way Marissa had been acting lately, Holly almost didn't feel guilty for wanting to steal her boyfriend. Almost.

* * *


	6. Denial

Author's Note: I don't own anything. Thank you so much for the reviews. Seriously, they totally make my day and it really helps with the motivation. You guys are awesome.

* * *

Lindsay laid out her towel on the sand and Ryan laid his beside hers. She pulled two sodas from her bag and handed one to Ryan. "It's so beautiful, isn't it?"

Ryan gazed out at the water and the sun that was beginning to sink in the sky, and nodded. He stood up and took off his T-shirt. Lindsay just sat there, trying not to gawk at him as he walked towards the water. "Aren't you going to get in?" he asked.

After briefly hesitating, she agreed. "Okay." She took off her tank top and shorts to reveal a modest two-piece suit with a floral design.

Ryan ran out into the water, as if daring the waves to knock him over. Lindsay stood on the shore and watched him, laughing as he came back up with a piece of seaweed in his hair. "What?" he asked.

She struggled to keep from laughing. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

He looked suspicious, but didn't question her. "Sticking your toes in doesn't count," he asserted.

"Sure it does," she replied firmly.

Ryan wrinkled his nose as if he was considering this. "No, definitely not." Before she knew what was happening, he threw her over his shoulder and ran out into the water with her.

"Ryan! No! Stop, put me down!" She managed to squeal through her laughter. A wave crashed over them and she felt Ryan tighten his hold on her. When it receeded, he let her go and she came up spitting out salt water. Ryan looked at her smiling, expecting some kind of retalliation. She smiled smugly. "Don't worry, I'll get you back later." As he grinned back at her, she melted a little bit and decided that Ryan Atwood definitely needed to smile more.

* * *

With a heavy sigh, Summer sat down on the hotel bed beside her best friend. "Marissa, I get that you're going through a hard time right now. I'm not saying I know exactly how you feel, because I don't, but I do know what it's like to be betrayed by a parent. And at least your dad did it because he loves you."

With a sigh, Marissa nodded. "I know...I feel so selfish for all those times I asked him to buy me things..."

"Coop," Summer rubbed a soothing hand over Marissa's back. "You didn't know. And he could have told you no. It's not like your love was ever contigent on him buying you things."

"Mine isn't, but my mom's is...or was, I guess."

No one had ever said it before, but Summer had always suspected that Mrs. Cooper's favorite thing about Mr. Cooper was his bank account. "Oh no. Sweetie, are they...? I mean she's not going to just leave him, is she?"

Marissa nodded. "Not only has my dad lost his job, his home, and his reputation, but on top of all that, he's losing his _adoring _wife."

"But he still has his daughters. And his friends." Summer made a face, realizing that most of his friends had been his clients. "I mean...the Cohens anyway."

"Yeah. Kirsten and Sandy have been really great about helping him out."

"The Cohens are pretty amazing."

"Why do I get the feeling you aren't talking about Sandy and Kirsten?" Marissa asked with a teasing smirk.

"I guess Chino is sort of a Cohen now, isn't he?"

Marissa's face hardened at the mention of Ryan's name. "I was talking about Seth."

"Well, I wasn't," Summer stated firmly. After a brief pause, she mumbled, "And I don't like Cohen."

"Do you even know Ryan?" Marissa asked growing angry, though she knew she had no right to be.

"I'm starting to. You aren't into Chino or anything, are you?" Summer regarded Marissa with her eyebrows raised in annoyance.

"No, I have a _boyfriend, _remember?"

"Yeah, I remember, but do you?"

Marissa sighed with exasperation. "Stop trying to change the subject. Just admit that you like Seth Cohen!"

Summer's hand quickly covered Marissa's mouth. "Shh! They'll hear you!"

Marissa's tone lightened. "You're blushing!" she exclaimed teasingly with a smile. "And you aren't denying it. You like Seth Cohen!"

"Ew! No Marissa, I do not! I can't like him. He's like...Seth Cohen."

"That's too bad," Marissa commented. "Because he sure likes you."

Summer rolled her eyes. "Right, that's why he's spent the weekend shacking up with Tinkerbell."

"He's with Anna?"

"Chino said they went to some comic book thing together."

"How romantic," Marissa quipped with a smile. "They're probably just friends. Have you even told Seth that you like him?"

"I don't like him, and I don't care what he does with Tinkerbell!"

"Sum, I've known you for years. You're not a good liar, and you're especially bad at denying your feelings for Seth. Just stop fighting it; It's undeniable."

"I'm denying it."

* * *

Seth woke up the next morning after a night of restless sleep. His mind was swimming with thoughts of Summer and Anna. Mostly Summer.

After grabbing breakfast, Seth and Anna loaded the car and were on their way home. "So that was Comicon," Seth commented, trying to make conversation.

"Thanks for inviting me to come with you." She smiled brightly at him. "I had a really great time this weekend. It's so awesome to find someone who I can share this with."

Seth shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Ryan just doesn't appreciate the artistic beauty of graphic novels like you do."

Anna turned away, disappointed. A comparison to Ryan was definitely not what she was going for. The rest of the way back, they just talked about music and comic books. An awkward silence hung between them when Seth pulled into Anna's driveway. "Can I help you with your bags?"

"Sure."

He struggled to lift her suitcase but carried it to the door. He set it down with a thud and Anna stepped close to him. "Thank you, Seth," she said so softly it was nearly a whisper. She stood on her toes to kiss him lightly on the lips.

For a moment, he stood there, frozen. _Summer's over._ With that in mind, Seth decided to make this moment with Anna memorable. He quickly intensified the kiss, pushing her up against the front door. She moaned with pleasure, running her hands through his curls, which she'd already grown fond of.

Seth wasn't quite getting into it, so he closed his eyes to focus on the sensations. Unfortunately, when his eyelids shut, he saw Summer's face. He quickly pulled back from Anna, leaving her breathless and a bit stunned. "I'll see you at school?"

She gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah, see you at school."

* * *

The car ride back to Newport was too quiet. The tension between Holly and Marissa, who sat on opposite sides of Luke in the backseat, was almost unbearable, and Brad's hostility towards everyone but Holly wasn't helping matters. Summer leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to shut out this mess that had become her world.

Marissa sat beside Luke sulking. Brad had been excessively rude to her since she'd gotten drunk and she couldn't figure out why. She did know that if she didn't cut back on her drinking soon, her mom would figure it out and insist that Marissa "get help."

Holly carefully avoided Luke's gaze, feeling a mixture of guilt, embarassment, and spite. She knew it would be wrong to steal her friend's boyfriend, but she wasn't sure if she really cared anymore. After talking to Brad the previous night, she was beginning to wonder if Luke was worth all this. It was getting harder and harder to see him with Marissa, especially knowing that she would never love him as devotedly as he loved her. And of course she could never love him like Holly did.

Luke's hand brushed against hers, and they reacted by turning to look at each other. In his eyes, she saw sweetness, resistance, and when she looked closely, longing. Oh yeah, he was definitely worth it. If only he'd wake up and see how bad Marissa was for him.

Luke had countless questions and he couldn't ask any of them. Was he remembering things, or did Brad say that Holly was in love with him? More importantly, what the heck was wrong with Marissa? Why was she fighting with Holly? Was it really their dads, or was it because of him? How long had Holly felt this way? And the scariest question of all was what if he felt the same way?


	7. The First Day

Author's Note: I don't own anything. Thank you so much for the reviews. This chapter may be a bit confusing as far as the couples are concerned, because a lot of the characters are feeling torn right now, but hang in there with me. :)

* * *

Ryan lied on his bed, tossing his hackey sack in the air and catching it so rhythmically that he was hardly aware of it. He'd had a good time at the beach with Lindsay the night before, and he hadn't felt that carefree in a long time. It'd be nice having her right next door. Since he first arrived in Newport, the one thing he'd missed the most was sneaking into Theresa's room through her window and talking half the night about nothing at all, and when they got older, fumbling around in the dark. If he hadn't spent most of his life thinking of her as someone to play soccer with or do homework with, he figured he probably could have fallen in love with her.

Lindsay was new, and in her own way, she even managed to take his mind off of Marissa. He refused to admit it to anyone, including himself, but he still had a huge crush on the girl. He knew he shouldn't like her, and he was trying to forget about her, but so far, he hadn't been very successful. He glanced over at the clock. It was time to go meet Sandy. He hopped onto his bike and rode to the Crab Shack.

"Ryan!" Sandy greeted him with a big smile. "How are you? Everything going okay?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, things are good."

"Because you know-"

"I know," Ryan cut in, offering a small smile. "Thanks."

"Are you ready to start school tomorrow?"

"I guess," he said and Sandy could hear the timidness in his voice.

"Nervous?"

Ryan smirked sarcastically. "Why would I be nervous?"

Sandy chuckled. "It'll take some adjusting, but I'm sure you'll be fine. And if not, you'll always have Seth."

Ryan couldn't help but grin. "My neighbor is also starting harbor this year."

"Really? Did he just move here?"

"She. Transferred from Newport Union."

"Ah, the girl next door," Sandy replied with a knowing grin.

Ryan raised an eyebrow at him, and for a moment his thoughts drifted to Marissa. "How are things coming along with Mr. Cooper's case?"

"Well, the good news is, he's not going to prison. The bad news is he'll have to sell the house."

"How's Mrs. Cooper dealing with that?"

Sandy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They're getting a divorce."

Ryan stared at him silently, wanting to ask about Marissa, but refusing to let himself.

* * *

Summer went through her closet, trying to pick out her first day of school outfit. As much as she tried to push Seth out of her mind, he kept popping into her thoughts at the most random moments. She wanted to know what exactly was going on with him and Anna.

She and Ryan seemed to have drifted into the 'just friends' stage without her even realizing it. It was probably for the best, because the more she got to know him, the more she saw that they just didn't click like that. It might have had something to do with the fact that she had completely fallen for his best friend.

The next morning, Ryan and Lindsay arrived at school together, both thankful that if they had to be outsiders, at least they would be outsiders together. As Lindsay stepped out of the car, she noticed a group of cheerleaders looking at her oddly. "Um, I'm new. Is it okay if I park here?"

The girl tossed her hair, and replied in a snotty tone, "Sure, if you're not embarrassed."

As soon as the girl turned around, Lindsay rolled her eyes, and Ryan gave her a reassuring look. "Come on, let's get to homeroom."

"Ryan!" Someone called from behind them.

He and Lindsay turned to see Seth quickly walking towards them. "Hey, man." They greeted each other with a fist bump. "Lindsay, Seth; Seth Lindsay."

They nodded and then Seth snatched Ryan's schedule out of his hands. "Dude, we're in the same homeroom!"

"What teacher do you have?" Ryan asked Lindsay.

"Greenberg."

"Sweet, that's right next to our room," Seth stated with a grin.

Lindsay wasn't sure what to make of Seth, but Ryan seemed at ease with him, so he couldn't be too bad. "Awesome."

As they were walking into their rooms, Holly came out from the room Lindsay was headed into and pulled Ryan aside. He gave her a disgusted look, but stepped out into the hallway with her. He stared at her waiting for an explanation.

"Okay, you can stop with the death glare!"

He rolled his eyes, but tried to appear slightly less ticked.

"Here's the thing...I know you're totally into Marissa, and I like Luke."

"I'm not-"

"Please, Chino. I'm not blind."

"She's with Luke," Ryan said firmly.

Holly shrugged. "Exactly."

"Huh?"

"Look, I know that Marissa likes you, and I have a feeling that if I could get Luke away from Marissa for five minutes..."

"No."

"Come on, all we'd have to do is pretend to be together for a little while and soon we'd have them eating out of the palms of our hands." She stepped towards him, backing him into a wall.

"This is a really bad idea."

"Since when did that ever stop you?" She looked up at him seductively.

"I have to get to class." He refused to show any reaction to her advances and ducked away from her.

"So we've got a deal? I get Luke, you get Marissa, it works out for everyone."

He glared at her one last time before disappearing into the classroom.

Holly looked up to see Marissa standing at the end of the hallway, watching. Holly smiled and waved at her, feigning innocence.

* * *

Anna walked into homeroom and sat down at an empty table. She nervously tapped a pencil, waiting for the bell to ring. The sooner the day started, the sooner it would be over. She had hoped to run into Seth before school, but she hadn't been able to find him. At least they had the same lunch.

She pulled out her planner, doodling on the pages that she wouldn't need to use. Finally, the bell rang, and the seat beside her was still empty. She noticed several people staring in her direction, and she managed a smile, hoping they weren't staring at her because they thought she was some kind of freak.

The door opened, and Summer walked in, looking slightly frazzled, but somehow still perfect. After an annoying exchange with the teacher, Summer looked for a place to sit. The only empty seat was beside Anna, so she hesitantly sat down.

"Hey. Summer, right?"

"Yeah. What's your name again?" Summer asked as if she hadn't been wondering what was going on with this girl and Cohen for the past several days.

"Anna."

"Right, Cohen's girlfriend." She couldn't keep all of the hostility out of her voice and it made Anna cringe.

She wasn't sure if she should object that or not. Instead she just turned away from Summer and pretended to be listening intently to the teacher.

After homeroom, Luke waited for Marissa by her locker. "Hey babe."

She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "I can't believe summer's over and we're back in school already."

"Look, Marissa," he started, his voice lowering. "I want you to know that whatever happens this year, you know with everything going on with your parents...we'll get through it together."

She offered him an unsure smile. "Thanks, Luke."

Since getting back from Tijuana, Luke had done a lot of thinking and decided that regardless of whether he had feelings for Holly or not, he still felt strongly for Marissa and he couldn't leave her now, when everything else in her life was going wrong. Hopefully, there would be no more drama with that punk from Chino, but somehow, he knew it wasn't over. "Did you and Holly smooth things over?"

"I guess."

At the mention of Holly's name, Luke noticed that Marissa's tone became very bitter. He wondered how long it would be before she turned back into the Marissa he loved...or if she ever would.


	8. Jealousy

Author's Note: I don't own anything. As for the couples, there will be quite a bit of conflict coming up. Oliver and Theresa will both be coming into the picture at some point also, but probably quite a ways down the road.

* * *

Ryan walked into his first class, biology, and scanned the room. He already knew that neither Seth nor Lindsay was in his class. Just before the bell rang, Marissa walked in. She flashed Ryan a bright smile, and sat down in the empty seat beside him. "Hey!"

He smiled weakly and nodded.

"This is great! We can be lab partners."

Ryan sighed. "Look, I don't want to cause any more trouble with you and Luke..."

She placed her hand on his arm in a gesture that was supposed to be comforting, but made him feel rather awkward. "Don't worry about Luke. He's just going to have to accept the fact that we're friends."

"Do you really think that's ever going to happen?" he asked sternly.

"He'll come around eventually."

Ryan gave her a disbelieving look, and pulled a blank notebook out of his backpack. When he glanced back at her, she looked upset and he felt bad about it, but he didn't know what he could do. Ryan was saved from trying to give some words of consolation when the teacher stood up to start class.

At lunch, Seth walked out into the courtyard and was thrilled that for once, he wasn't looking for an empty table where he wouldn't be noticed. He saw Ryan and Lindsay sitting together, and joined them. "How are the classes going so far?"

Ryan scowled. "Marissa's my lab partner."

Seth laughed. "That won't be awkward at all. At least it's not Luke."

"No, but he is in my European history class."

"Who are Luke and Marissa?" Lindsay asked.

Ryan opened his mouth to answer but didn't know what to say. Luckily, Seth was never at a loss for words. "Marissa's my neighbor and Luke is her jealous boyfriend." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "He thinks Ryan is macking on Marissa."

Lindsay felt her stomach sink a little, but asked with a smile, "Are you?"

"No," he replied flatly. Eager to get the focus of the conversation off of himself, he asked, "So how has your day been so far? Any new friends?"

Lindsay sighed. "So far? Nope. My lab partner for chemistry...Brad something, is pretty much everything I was afraid that Harbor would be, all wrapped up into one guy. I think he even plays water polo."

"A water polo player, huh?" Seth inquired. "Don't let him pee in your shoes."

Lindsay gave Seth a confused look but he only nodded. She turned to Ryan who just shrugged.

"Is this seat taken?"

Lindsay looked up and saw a girl with short blonde hair, who Seth and Ryan seemed to recognize. "It is now."

Anna sat down and smiled, extending her hand to Lindsay. "I'm Anna."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lindsay."

"Anna just started at Harbor this year too," Seth said to Lindsay.

Lindsay smiled shyly. "Are you guys doing any extra-cirriculars?"

"I was thinking of doing Lit Mag," Anna replied.

"That sounds like it doesn't involve athletics," Seth chimed in excitedly. "When is the meeting?"

Anna handed Seth a flyer, then handed another one to Lindsay. "You should come too. It'll be fun."

"Maybe," she replied, turning to Ryan. "What about you?"

"I don't know..." He hadn't planned on doing any after school activities, but if he wanted to get scholarships for college, it couldn't hurt.

Seth voiced Ryan's thoughts. "Universities are always looking for 'well-rounded' students for scholarships."

Ryan shrugged. "Maybe I could go out for the soccer team or something."

* * *

As Summer walked out into the courtyard, she scanned the tables, looking for her friends. She saw Seth and without thinking, she started to walk towards him, when she saw Anna walk up to the table. Ryan was also sitting with him, along with another girl she didn't recognize. She sighed sadly, turning to look for her usual crowd. Luke was sitting beside Marissa, who kept glancing over at Ryan a few tables away. Holly, Brad, and Zach were all talking about the classes they'd had so far that day. She sat down on the other side of Marissa.

"Hey Coop."

"Hey Sum. How are classes so far?"

Summer rolled her eyes. "They're classes. What about you?" She lowered her voice so Luke couldn't hear. "Any classes with Chino?"

"Biology," she answered, deliberately leaving out that he was her lab partner. "Do you have any classes with Seth?"

"Why would I care if I have any classes with Cohen?"

Marissa smirked and Luke was now paying attention. "You're not into that geek, are you?"

"Ew! No. He like, reads comic books."

"I read comic books," Zach chimed in.

"And you wonder why your love life is non-existent." Summer teased, laughing good-naturedly.

"My chem lab partner is this new girl from Pittsburgh and it just so happens that she _loves _comic books."

"Pittsburgh? Ew!" Holly replied and Summer couldn't help but agree.

"No, she's cool. Her name's Anna."

"Hmm, well it's too bad she's already going out with Cohen."

"She is?" Summer nodded and he followed her gaze towards the table where they were sitting together. "Oh well."

"Oh well?" Summer prodded. "If you like the girl, you shouldn't give up that easily! You've got to go for it!"

Zach looked at Summer oddly. "I just met her this morning." When Summer just kept looking at him expectantly with her hands on her hips, it clicked. "Wow, you really do like Cohen."

"Shut up, I do not!"

Marissa, Luke, Brad, Holly, and Zach all gave her a look that said _yeah right._

Lindsay walked into her English class, thankful that it was her last class of the day. She smiled when she saw Ryan. "Hey," she greeted him, putting her bag down on the floor beside the desk next to his.

"Hey," he smiled. "It's nice to see a friendly face."

"Tell me about it. But we've almost made it through the first day."

"Seth said the English classes here involve a lot of writing. Not just about literature, but personal stuff."

"Oh, that'll be cool."

Ryan smiled nervously. "For you maybe."

"You don't like writing?"

"Yeah, no. Words are kind of...not my thing."

"You don't say."

He smirked at her and she turned away from him laughing.

The teacher came in and somehow managed to spend an entire hour going over the syllabus. When the bell rang, the entire class nearly leapt out of their seats. "I'll come find you by your locker, okay?"

Ryan nodded, and once they were out the door, they parted ways. Once he got to his locker, he put the books he would need in his backpack. One day and he was already behind. As he was shutting his locker, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find Holly standing there, grinning like a cat who'd finally caught a mouse.

"Hey."

He smiled as politely as he could manage. "Hi."

"So?" She was looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Do we have a deal?"

"No."

Her eyes darted to the side, seeing Marissa and Luke walking towards them hand in hand. Before Ryan saw them, Holly pushed him against the locker and kissed him. It took him a second to process what was happening, but once he did, he lightly pushed her off.

"What the hell was that?" He turned and saw Luke and Marissa walking away and glared at Holly, who only smiled and bounced away.

"Call me later, cutie!" she called back to him, causing both Luke and Marissa to glance back.

Ryan just turned away and found Lindsay standing beside him. "You ready to go?" she asked. Her eyes looked cold and a lot more tired than when he'd seen her not even five minutes ago.

"Yeah." He followed her to her car and they rode the whole way home in silence.


	9. Hidden Agenda

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Note: A few people have asked if Alex will be appearing in the story, and I'm going to try to work her in later on, but I make no promises. I know things with Ryan and Lindsay are taking a lot of turns, but just be patient. :-)

* * *

The next morning, when Ryan got into Lindsay's car, she attempted to smile at him, but it was clearly forced and she couldn't meet his eyes. "Did you get the reading done for English?" he asked, desperately trying to break the silence. Normally he didn't mind it, but for some reason, it felt weird today.

"Yeah, I skimmed it. I actually read The Scarlet Letter last year, so I'm just reviewing. Did you?"

"Yeah. I was up really late doing homework last night."

Lindsay parked the car and the walked into school together. "Really? I never would have pegged you as the studious type."

"I'm not," he replied, amused. "Well, I wasn't. But the Cohens are paying for me to go to this school, so the least I could do is try as hard as I can."

"So how do you know the Cohens?"

"Uh..." Ryan said a silent prayer of thanks when the five minutes warning bell rang. "I've gotta get to homeroom."

She knew it wouldn't take him that long to walk down the hall, but she decided to just let it go. For now. She went to homeroom, sitting in the same place she had yesterday. When the girl who she'd seen Ryan kissing walked in, she quickly looked away and tried to focus on the book in her hands, but all she could think about was the feeling of jealousy and anger that filled her as she saw Holly's bright smile.

"Isn't he that kid from Chino?" Lindsay heard a girl sitting with Holly ask. "That's just...ew! I mean, he's hot and all, but Chino?"

"Trust me, with the way he kisses, I couldn't care less where he's from."

The girls giggled and Lindsay felt like she was going to be sick.

Lindsay dreaded lunch all morning. When it came, she sat at a table way off to the side, hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She didn't want to have to face Ryan. She could at least admit it to herself now: she was jealous. But she could never admit that to him. Not when he clearly felt nothing for her.

"Lindsay!" she heard Seth greeting her.

She hesitantly turned to look at him. "Hey."

"Where's Ryan?"

"I don't know, probably with Holly," she replied bitterly.

"Why would he be with Holly?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes, and over Seth's shoulder, she could see Ryan walking towards them. "Nevermind."

Ryan smiled at Lindsay, and she tried to smile back, but it was a sad smile. "Hey."

"Hi," she replied awkwardly as he sat down beside her.

Summer stood behind Ryan, holding her tray. "Mind if I sit here, Chino?"

Ryan smirked, knowing that Seth, who was on her other side, was the reason she wanted to sit there. "Yeah, no, sit."

"Hey Summer," Seth said nervously.

"Cohen." She opened her milk, then turned to him, her eyes showing a hint of hurt and/or anger. He couldn't quite tell which."Where's Tinkerbell?"

Seth was confused and looked to Ryan for help. He mouthed _Anna, _and Seth nodded in understanding. "Anna? Haven't seen her yet today."

Lindsay sat quietly watching the exchange, but when Holly came to the table, she visibly stiffened. Luckily, no one noticed.

"Hey Ryan!" she pulled up a chair between him and Summer, kissed his cheek and sat down.

He almost growled at her, but decided that if she was going to get the message, he couldn't say it in any uncertain terms. "Holly, can we talk? Over there?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Sure." She winked at Summer then eagerly followed him away from the group. "What's up?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

She looked at him as if his words had deeply hurt her. "What?" She reached out and rested her hand on his arm, which he quickly shrugged off.

"We're just friends. Actually, not even that. I get that you want to make Luke jealous so that he'll fall in love with you or whatever, but I'm not going to be part of it. If you touch me again, next time I won't have the courtesy to pull you aside and tell you to get the hell off."

"It's working." She pointed to Marissa who was staring at them with interest, but when Ryan turned around, she quickly looked away.

"I can't believe you," he sighed, wondering at the ruthlessness of the girl. She looked at him with pleading eyes, but they had no effect on him. "Just stay away from me from now on." Before she could argue, he walked away and joined Seth, Summer, and Lindsay at the lunch table. They all stared at him expectantly.

"What was that?" Seth finally asked.

"Nothing." Ryan saw Seth and Lindsay exchange a knowing look, but when he tried to look at Lindsay, she looked down at her food. "We just had to clear something up."

An awkward silence filled the table. "So, I'm gonna get to pre-calc," Summer said standing up with her tray.

Seth stood up with her."Okay, I'll walk you."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I can walk myself."

"Good, then you can walk me too," Seth replied, not missing a beat.

Ryan and Lindsay only said a few words to each other during class. When Ryan got to his locker after school, Marissa was waiting for him. "Hey!" she greeted him with a flirty smile.

He half-smiled. His mind was on Lindsay. Something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. A part of him suspected that it had to do with Holly, but he refused to let himself entertain the implications of that thought. "Hey, what's up?"

"We're going to need to get together and work on that lab report after school."

Ryan nodded distractedly. "I have soccer try-outs until five."

"I have a social committee meeting until five, so that's perfect. You could come over to my place. I think my mom's going to be out most of the day."

"How about we just meet me in the library?"

She sighed, the rejection stinging. "Sure."

They parted waysand he walked to Lindsay's locker. "Hey."

"I'll be ready in just a second..."

"Actually, I've got soccer try-outs today."

"Oh." She tried to hide the hurt in her voice. It was just soccer try-outs, it's not like he was blowing her off to makeout with Holly. "Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Luke saw Holly walking down the hall, sniffling and looking like she was fighting back tears. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She shook her head and started to walk away, but he caught her arm.

"Does this have something to do with that Chino punk?"

She sniffled again and looked up at Luke. "He said I'm nothing but a rich, spoiled, brat and he doesn't want to see me anymore." Luke looked a bit surprised, but wasn't about to question it. He pulled her into a hug. "I can't believe he said that after we..." She started sobbing.

"Shh, it's okay."

"I just feel so stupid."

Luke's heart ached for her. "Why? You didn't do anything wrong. He's an idiot if he can't see what an amazing girl you are."

"Thanks, Luke." She gave him a small smile.

"I've got to get to soccer try-outs. See you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." As soon as Luke walked away, she smiled to herself. Despite Ryan's refusal to cooperate, it seemed to be working out to her advantage.

"So what was going on with Holly at lunch today?" Marissa asked Ryan.

"Nothing." Marissa raised her eyebrows at him and he decided on an explanation that was half true and didn't include Holly's plan to split up Marissa and Luke. "We sort of...well I ran into her at a party a few weeks ago, and I was a little drunk. She got the wrong idea and I've been trying to let her down easy, but that didn't work, so I had to just be blunt."

"It's weird, because I was getting the feeling she was into Luke."

Ryan tried to look surprised. "Yeah, weird." He silently pulled out his notebook.

"So how are things going with your mom?"

"Good. She's got a job managing a restaurant. She really seems to be getting it together. How are you doing with the thing with your parents?"

"The divorce?"

He half-smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that."

"I'm dealing," she shrugged. "I somehow managed to convince my mom to let me live with my dad. A part of me's still hoping that they'll get back together though."

Ryan nodded knowingly.

* * *

Seth lied on his bed with Captain Oats on his chest. "I know I should forget her, but I can't." He sighed letting his head fall back. "You're right, Anna's great, but Summer is...Summer." Placing Captain Oats aside, he stood up from his bed and walked to the window, looking out at the ocean. It was almost like if he watched the waves roll in and out long enough, they would give him the answer.

He was with Anna...sort of...and she was really great. Their interests were freakishly similar and they always found things to talk about. Her biggest fault was that he couldn't find one worth mentioning. Except for the whole not being Summer thing.

For the first time since Casino Night, Seth felt like there may be hope with the Summer situation. After walking her to class, when they parted ways, she'd caught his gaze for a moment and he could've sworn he saw something like longing.

He heard a car door shut and looked over to the Coopers' driveway. "Grandpa?" he whispered in the dark. He watched Caleb ring the door bell and the Dragon Lady emerged. She pulled him into a kiss before ushering him inside.

"Well that's just...awesome."

* * *

Please review!


	10. Dilemma

I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this. Between traveling I've been doing for my job and writer's block, this got put on the back burner, but I'll try and update more regularly.

* * *

Seth picked up the phone and dialed the number he already knew by heart. "Ryan, I've got some news."

Ryan tapped his pencil on his open textbook, trying to read and listen to Seth at the same time.

"Julie Cooper has a new boyfriend."

Ryan dropped his pencil. "That sucks. Marissa was just talking to me about how she's hoping her parents will get back together. She's going to be really upset."

"She's not the only one. Guess who she's dating."

Ryan opted to humor Seth rather than to express his dislike of guessing games. "Luke?"

"Ha! I'd like to see that...well not _see_ that, but anyway, this is almost as scandalous. My grandpa."

"Caleb? Wow."

"So Julie Cooper could eventually be my grandma."

"And Kirsten's step-mom."

"Yeah, it gives a whole new meaning to the whole wicked step-mother thing, doesn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay, so lunch today," Seth started, quickly changing the subject.

"What about it?"

"Summer. What was she doing sitting with us? And why does she call Anna "Tinkerbell"?"

"Maybe she likes you."

"Really? Did she say something to you? What'd she say?"

"Aren't you dating Anna?"

"Crap, forgot about that. I think I kind of am, but I'm not sure. Enough about my love life, what's going on with you and Holly?"

Ryan hesitated, debating about whether or not he should tell Seth. "Nothing, just a misunderstanding about what happened at that party a few weeks ago."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a really bad liar?"

There was a pause and Seth heard someone call Ryan's name in the background. "Mom's home, I've got to go."

* * *

The next morning, Luke picked Marissa up for school. "Hey Babe."

She gave him a small, sad smile but didn't say anything. She stared straight ahead of her, completely oblivious to Luke's frustrated expression.

As soon as they got to school, she kissed him on the cheek and headed off in the opposite direction. As he walked away, he tried to figure out what to do. Though the idea of not being with Marissa, after five years of being with her, was weird and a little scary, he knew that ending the relationship would just be a formality. Ever since Ryan had arrived, things had been different. Marissa had been different.

By the end of the day, he'd decided that he had to break up with her. Or he could wait it out and hope that she would break up with him. Maybe, he could act like a jerk, and then she'd _have_ to break up with him. He shook his head at the idea, and decided he'd figure out what to say to her later, when his thoughts were clearer.

"Hey Luke." He turned to see Holly smiling up at him. "I just wanted to say thanks for yesterday."

"No problem," he replied with a smile. "I'm here, anytime you need a...um...friend." He couldn't pinpoint when or how it'd happened, but he'd started to care a lot about Holly.

"How are things with you and Marissa?" she asked interestedly.

"Honestly? Not so good."

"Oh, Luke, I'm sorry." She reached up and ran her hand down his chest, lightly tugging on his shirt. "Are you okay?"

He looked up at her, wide-eyed, and with a playful grin, she winked and walked away. He watched as she strutted down the hall. She walked by Ryan, and when he saw her, he gave her an awkward smile, and opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "Save it, Ryan! We're done." As she walked away from him, he looked confused but then just smirked and continued down the hall.

* * *

Ryan, Lindsay, Seth and Anna sat together at lunch, and as Ryan and Lindsay chatted about something pertaining to their English class, Seth's eyes kept drifting over to the table next to them.

"Seth!" At the sound of Anna's voice, he forced himself to tear his eyes away from Summer.

"Yes, my dearest?"

She groaned and rolled her eyes. As much as she liked Seth, she didn't want to be the girl he settled for because he couldn't have Summer. "What are we doing?"

"We're eating turkey sandwiches."

"Seth, you know what I mean."

He sighed. "I don't know. We never really talked about it."

Ryan and Lindsay exchanged a glance, wondering if Seth and Anna were aware of their presence.

"I've made my feelings pretty clear, so figure it out, and let me know. And if I'm still interested, then we'll see." She stood up from the table and walked away angrily.

Several moments after she left, Seth was still lost in thought. He liked Anna, he really did, but she just wasn't Summer. Of course the only one who could ever be Summer was Summer and she wasn't interested. Was she?

He ate the rest of his lunch quietly while Ryan and Lindsay talked about the evil antics of Arthur Chillingsworth.

* * *

Anna smiled when she saw Zach leaning over a book, already working on their lab report.

He looked up at her and grinned. "Hey."

"Hey, how was water polo practice?"

"Good, I think we're actually improving. Luke may be an ass, but he's a good team captain. How was lit mag?"

"Um, I actually skipped it today. Seth and I got into a fight. Well not a fight...I don't know. I think we might have broken up."

"You aren't sure?"

"Well, I think we're still going to that charity thing on the yacht together, but after that..."

"Oh yes, the raffle. Can't miss that."

She laughed and shoved him playfully. "So I take it you'll be there?"

"Yeah, actually Summer and I are going together."

Anna instantly saw green, and she wasn't sure if it was the knowledge that Summer would be there, distracting Seth or if it was because Summer was going with Zach. "You and Summer? I didn't know you were-"

"We're not," he quickly corrected her. "We've just been friends for a long time."

"Hmm," she nodded thoughtfully. "So if Seth runs off with Summer, at least we'll have each other."

"Seth is an idiot."

Anna felt herself blush. "Let's get this report done."

* * *

Marissa glanced longingly at the pool house before heading up the driveway to her old home. She could hear her mother's voice, and a man who sounded an awful lot like...Caleb. She watched as her mother kissed him good-bye, then, not knowing what else to do, she walked away so Caleb wouldn't see her. She felt drawn to the pool house once again, but she thought better of it and called Luke.

When he came to pick her up, he found that she had tears streaming down her cheeks. "Babe, what's wrong?"

"My mom...all that stuff she said about being a real family..." Everything she'd ever trusted in her life was falling apart and she was powerless to stop it.

He held her close to him and soothingly rubbed his hand over her back. "What happened?"

"I saw her kissing Caleb."

As her body shook with sobs, he gritted his teeth. There's no way he could break up with her now, and a part of him really didn't want to. "It'll be okay. We'll just go to the charity thing and then we can go back to my house and have some fun, okay?" Perhaps with emotions running high, things would get interesting.

She nodded and hugged him tightly. Luke didn't make her tingly and he didn't make her knees weak, but he was there, and for now, that was all she wanted.

* * *

Ryan hesitantly raised his hand to the doorbell. He silently repeated what he planned to ask her. He didn't really need help with his homework, but he needed to talk to her.

She answered the door with a bright smile that soon faded from her eyes, but not her lips. "Hey, what's up?"

"Biology. I need some help."

She grinned at him sardonically. "Isn't that what your lab partner is for?"

"Lindsay..." his voice was soft and his eyes were pleading.

She sighed and opened the door for him to come in. "What do you need help with?"

"Oh, uh..." There was a long awkward pause. "Okay, I didn't come here to ask you about homework. I just needed to talk to you."

She nodded and led him to the couch. They sat down on opposite ends. "So talk."

"I just...are you...uh..."

She couldn't help but smile. "You really do have a way with words."

"Eloquency has never been a strength of mine, I know. Is everything okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

"Lindsay..."

Seeing that he wasn't going to let it go, she played the card she knew would make him drop the subject. "I don't know, maybe it's PMS." When she saw Ryan's eyes widen, she added, "I appreciate your concern, but it's nothing."

"So we're good?" She nodded. It was obvious that she wasn't going to tell him anything, so he scooched towards her on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't sure why he did it, but if felt good. At first she tensed, but when he didn't let go, she relaxed, leaning her head on his shoulder. His fingertips lightly rubbed her back and she buried her face in his neck, letting his scent wash over her.

The feel of her breats against his chest and her lips right beside his neck surprised him. It was innocently intimate, but his thoughts were not so innocent anymore. His body tensed and he pulled away a moment later. "So are you going to that thing for the Children's Hospital?"

"Newport charity events aren't really my favorite way to spend a Saturday night."

"Mine either, but Seth insists he's going to need me there for 'moral support.' I just hope Holly doesn't corner me again."

Lindsay raised an eyebrow at him. "You hope she doesn't? I thought you guys were, you know, together."

"Me and Holly? No, I met her at this party a few weeks ago, we were drinking and there was kissing. It was stupid and I guess she got the wrong idea."

"In homeroom the other day, she was telling some girls about your amazing kissing skills."

Ryan laughed and blushed. "I can't believe I actually kissed her. I must have been pretty drunk."

Lindsay nodded. "I didn't peg you as much of a drinker."

"I'm not, it's just seeing Luke and Marissa together..."

"So you do like Marissa." She tried to keep the hurt out of her voice.

Ryan shrugged. "I _did_. Even if I did still like her, I know she's not right for me." After a brief silence, he changed the subject. "So I'll just be keeping an eye on Seth and avoiding Holly."

"Sounds like fun," she stated dryly with amusement.

"Come with me."

"Ryan, I told you-"

"Come on, there's gonna be a raffle."

She found herself smiling widely at the idea of a date-that's-not-really-a-date with Ryan. "I don't have anything to wear."

"I'm sure that either Anna or Kirsten has something you could wear."

"Kirsten?"

"Mrs. Cohen. Seth's mom."

"You know his parents pretty well," she stated.

Ryan shrugged. "He is my best friend."

"Yeah, but didn't you just meet him like a month ago? And how exactly did you meet him when you were living in Chino?"

Lindsay could see that Ryan looked uncomfortable. "Mr. Cohen was...is...my lawyer."

"Your lawyer? For what?"

"I, um...stole a car. Well, actually, Trey stole it and I was with him."

"Really? Wow, I didn't know I was living next door to a criminal." She smiled, assuring him that she was joking.

"Yep. Turns out the boy next door is actually a bad boy." He grinned mischievously, relieved that she knew the truth and was still speaking to him.

"Then I guess I can't go to the charity thing with you. My mom always told me to stay away from boys like you," she teased.

"Oh really?" he challenged. She nodded and Ryan stood up and walked into the kitchen, pulling Lindsay with him, while she was asking what on earth he was doing. "Ms. Wheeler?"

"Oh, hi Ryan! Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Actually I've got to get home to make dinner for my mom and me, but I was just asking Lindsay if she'd be interested in attending the charity event for the Children's Hospital. It's on a yacht." He ignored her glare and gave her mother a charming smile.

"That sounds like fun. You should go, Sweetie."

"I would love to, Mom," Lindsay said through gritted teeth. "But I don't have anything to wear. I've never been to one of those things."

"Oh, we'll find something."

Ryan grinned victoriously. "So it's settled then. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes. I suppose you will."

* * *

"Seth, why are we going to this thing? We both hate Newport charity events!" Anna pouted.

"Yes, but we both like boats. And raffles. Raffles are awesome."

Anna corked an eyebrow at him. "Whatever, I'm going to go get a Mountain Dew."

She wandered off into the crowd and Seth soon found himself looking for Summer. Their eyes locked and she quickly walked towards him, pulling him to a part of the boat that would provide some privacy.

Before he could say anything, her lips crashed against his. Once he got over the shock, he kissed her back, and she quickly pulled away. "Hey, what's going on?"

She kissed him again, this time placing one of his hands on her waist and nudging his lips open. When she felt his tongue against hers, she pulled away, leaning against a wall. "I like Seth Cohen."

"You, uh...you what now?"

Her head snapped around to look at him. "I wasn't talking to you. And if you tell anyone what you heard here, I'll kill you." She quickly walked away, leaving a very happy, but very confused Seth staring after her.


	11. Thanksgiving

Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm trying to keep the chapter numbers lined up with the episode numbers, so they're getting rather long and it's taking me longer to write them. I'll try to keep them coming quicker.

Disclaimer: If I owned Ryan, I wouldn't be writing stories about him.

* * *

Marissa watched Lindsay and Ryan, who were sitting on a bench nearby.

As Marissa approached them, they both turned to look at her. Ryan stood up to greet her. "Marissa, hey."

Lindsay fought the urge to roll her eyes at the quick switch in Ryan's attention. "Hi," she added, trying to mask her hurt and disappointment. "Great party."

Marissa smirked and crossed her hands over her chest. "Yeah, well I guess my mom and Caleb make a great team," she replied bitterly. "I can't believe she's doing this to my dad."

"Doing what?" Ryan asked carefully.

"She told me and my dad that she wanted us to be a family again. He's looked so happy all night, since she never mentioned the fact that she's _screwing _Caleb Nichol."

Lindsay looked slightly confused and Ryan's eyes widened as he tried to act surprised. "Your mom and Caleb? Wow, that's...shocking."

Marissa glared at her mother, who was flipping on the microphone to announce the winner of the raffle. "I can't let her get away with this."

"What are you going to do? Take the microphone and announce that they're a couple?"

Marissa looked at Ryan and smiled wickedly. She walked away before he or Lindsay could say anything else.

"This can't end well," Ryan said to Lindsay.

"You want to get out of here?"

He sat down, making himself comfortable. "Actually, I kind of want to see what happens."

Lindsay laughed. "Good, because I kind of wanted to see too."

* * *

The next morning, Ryan's phone rang bright and early, rousing him from a deep sleep. "Hello?"

"Good, you're awake."

Ryan groaned. "Seth, it's 8 o'clock on Saturday morning."

"Yeah, I wasn't sleeping very well either."

"Let me guess. Girl troubles?"

"Yeah, definitely trouble with the ladies."

"Any new plot developments, or is this the usual, 'Anna's great but she's not Summer' talk?"

"Okay, you can't repeat this to anyone. While we were on the yacht, Summer attacked me with her lips."

"Really," Ryan stated, rather than asked, doubtfully.

"Yeah and she threatened to kill me if I told anyone. She has an interesting take on romance."

"Hmm." Ryan laid back down in bed, as his eyes began to close.

"Dude, what am I gonna do?"

"What do you want to do?" Ryan asked drowsily, then considered his question, and added, "I meant that rhetorically and non-sexually."

Seth words caught in his throat, so he turned the conversation to Ryan. "I don't know. What about you? You and Lindsay seem to be getting along very well."

"Yeah, we're good friends."

"Right, I'm sure Marissa is insanely jealous over your purely platonic friendship."

"She's with Luke. She doesn't like me like that."

"Dude, are you blind? Last night I was afraid she was going to attack Lindsay."

Ryan laid down, and stared at the ceiling. "Even if Marissa did like me, why would she be jealous of Lindsay?"

"Oh Ryan. All this time, I've thought I was the idiot...well, the bigger idiot."

Ryan chose to ignore Seth's comment and change the subject. "Is your grandpa going to bring his new girlfriend to Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Bummed that Gabrielle is out of the picture?" Seth could almost feel Ryan's glare through the phone. "Grandpa never has Thanksgiving with us."

"Never?"

"He's probably afraid of my mom's cooking. Smart man. Oh, by the way, my mom wanted me to invite you guys over for Thanksgiving."

"Oh, uh...actually, we were going to have it with Lindsay and her mom."

"Well they can come too. The more the merrier."

"Wait, is Marissa going to be there?" When Seth laughed, Ryan rushed to explain. "I just don't want to make things worse with her and Luke."

"Sure. No, she must be having Thanksgiving with her mom or the Wards."

"Okay. I'll ask the Gardners about it."

After a beat, Seth asked, "Should I invite Summer?"

"Aren't you still technically dating Anna?"

"Good point. Although I don't think I ever was technically dating Anna."

* * *

After school, Seth approached Anna as she put her books into her backpack. He'd never broken up with someone before...he'd never had anyone to break up with...and he had no idea what to say or how to say it. As he watched her, he started to lose his nerve. "Hey Anna." She looked at him, and he knew he had to do it. He started to say something when she cut him off.

"We need to talk."

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Let's go somewhere private." They walked outside and Seth leaned against a tree as he listened to her. "This isn't working."

He looked at his shoes, a little sad, even though he'd wanted to break up also. "I know, I'm sorry. Look, I hope we can still-"

"-Be friends. I'm sure we will." Anna smiled to let him know that it was okay, even though a part of her felt like crying. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Okay." As soon as Anna was gone, Seth found himself looking for Summer. When he saw her in the crowd, he found her staring back at him, but when he started walking towards her, she walked away and was gone before he could catch up to her.

* * *

Ryan rolled his eyes when the phone rang. He wondered how many times Seth would have to rehash his break up with Anna before he got it through his head that he didn't shatter her heart, and she would move on. And that _she _broke up with _him._

He snatched up the receiver. "Seth, I'll be over in like 10 minutes-"

"Ry."

The voice rendered him speechless for a moment. "Trey."

"How's it going, little brother?"

"It's good, how are you?"

"I'm in prison. How do you think I am?"

"Right, sorry."

"Listen, I know I should have called you sooner, but I was wondering if you could maybe come visit me today."

"Today? Trey, it's Thanksgiving."

"Is mom making a feast?" Trey's voice was mocking, and while it angered Ryan, he couldn't really disagree with Trey's view of their mother's cooking skills. Or mothering skills, for that matter, though she'd really gotten better lately.

"We're having dinner with the Cohens. The family I lived with for a few weeks. And our neighbors."

"Okay, well do you think you could come down here, just for a little while?"

Ryan sighed, wishing that he didn't always give in to Trey. "Okay, I'll try and come. Do you want to see mom too?"

"No," Trey answered firmly. "She and I aren't exactly on good terms."

"Right. Okay, I'll see you later."

* * *

Kirsten answered the door, finding Ryan, Lindsay, Dawn and Renee standing there. She held out her hand to Lindsay. "You must be Lindsay. It's so nice to meet you." She turned to Renee and smiled warmly. "And you must be Renee."

Renee froze when she met Kirsten's gaze. "Thank you so much for having us," she said once her voice recovered. She put the pieces together in her head. How had she forgotten that Caleb had a daughter named Kirsten? He'd rattled on about his daughter and her Jewish husband...Cohen...and how he wished that Kirsten would come home to Newport. She lagged behind the group and tried to prepare herself.

Ryan and Lindsay went upstairs to find Seth, while Dawn and Renee followed Kirsten to the living room. Julie was seated on the couch between Jimmy and Rachel, who both looked annoyed, and in the chair beside the couch was Caleb. When she saw him, her first instinct was to run. Caleb looked disgustedly at Dawn, and when his eyes landed on Renee, his face flashed with anger, confusion, and finally fear.

Plastering on his business smile, he stood to greet the women as Kirsten introduced them. "Dad, this is Dawn, Ryan's mom. And this is Renee. She and her daughter live next door to Dawn and Ryan."

"How wonderful. I'm so glad you could make it." The tone of his voice gave no indication of what he was really thinking. She couldn't tell if he was afraid she'd blow his secret or if he was angry that she was there. No one else seemed to notice the tension, and they continued chatting.

Lindsay came downstairs with Ryan and Seth closely behind her. "Mom, would it be okay if I go with Ryan to visit his brother?"

Caleb looked towards the voice, his eyes lighting up. "Lindsay."

"Have we met before?" she asked, wondering who this strange man was.

He quickly recovered. "No, Seth mentioned you. I'm Caleb Nichol."

Seth looked at his grandfather with confusion but didn't say anything as Lindsay shook his outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you Mr. Nichol."

Renee glared at Caleb, and then turned to Ryan. "Isn't Trey-"

"Yeah, Lindsay, don't you think you should stay here?"

With one last glance between Lindsay and Caleb, Renee jumped in. "Ryan, you shouldn't go alone. Lindsay, I want you to be careful and stay close to Ryan."

Lindsay rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Okay. Thanks Mom." She headed out to the pool house with Seth and Ryan.

The doorbell rang, and Kirsten looked around, concluding that everyone she was expecting had already arrived. She opened the door to find Summer. "Hi Mrs. Cohen. Sorry for just showing up like this, but I need to talk to Seth."

"Oh no, we're glad to have you. He's in the pool house."

Summer smiled gratefully. "Thanks." She took a deep breath as she walked across the patio. When she opened the door to the pool house, all three of them stopped talking turned to look at her. "Hey," she greeted them with a shy wave.

"Summer," Seth smiled widely. "What's up?"

"Thanksgiving with the step-monster was looking like it would be worse than usual. I think she spiked my dad's punch. Is it okay if I eat with you guys?"

Seth and Ryan exchanged a look. "See Seth, you can't come to Chino because you have to stay here and keep Summer company."

"But-" Seth started.

Summer looked at Ryan apologetically, but quickly caught on. "That's right Cohen. It would be very rude of you to leave me all alone in the pool house."

One look at Summer, and his determination to go to Chino with Ryan and Lindsay vanished. "Okay. Yes, I will stay here with Summer." His smile held a hint of mischief.

Ryan shook his head, trying not to think about what would take place while he was gone. "Lindsay, you ready?"

"I think the real question is, are you?"

* * *

Lindsay watched from several feet away as Ryan and Trey talked. Neither of them looked very happy, and looking at the bruises on Trey's face, she was getting a little concerned. One of the inmates nearby whistled at her and looked her up and down. She was glad she hadn't worn a short skirt. She avoided his eyes and moved towards Ryan. His proximity calmed her nerves.

Several minutes later, he embraced Trey, then turned to her with a smile that was clearly put on. "Come on, let's go."

When they got back to the car, he tossed the keys to Lindsay. "I have to stay here and take care of something. You go ahead and go home; I'll take the bus."

She frowned at him. "I'm not going to make you take the bus. I'm in no hurry to get back."

"Lindsay, please," he pleaded with her. "I have to do this alone."

She felt hurt, confused, and a little suspicious. "What are you doing?"

After briefly debating whether or not he should lie, he sighed. "I have to deliver a stolen car."

Her eyes widened. "But Ryan, what if you-"

"I don't have a choice," he shot back bitterly. "He's my brother."

She weighed the options in her head, before she firmly stated her decision. "I can't let you do this alone."

Part of him wanted to fight her, but truthfully, he was glad she would be there. He'd just make sure she stayed away when he delivered it. When they got to his old neighborhood, memories flashed through his mind. He directed Lindsay to Theresa's house. As the stood on the front porch, his heart pounded anxiously in his chest.

When Theresa opened the door, she looked at Ryan, happy, then angry, and then at Lindsay. "Ryan Atwood."

This had the potential to get really awkward really quickly. "Is Arturo around?"

"That's it? You're just going to ask for my stupid brother? You're not going to tell me where you've been for the last five months?"

"It's a long story."

She opened the door to let them in. "Then you better get started."

Lindsay awkwardly followed Ryan inside, and smacked his arm gesturing towards Theresa. "Oh sorry. Lindsay, Theresa. Theresa, Lindsay."

"So this is your new girlfriend?"

"Friend," Lindsay amended. "I'm just the girl next door."

Theresa gave Lindsay a look of doubt. "Hmm. I was too." She grinned and raised her eyebrows at Ryan.

"Yeah, Arturo?"

Lindsay and Ryan followed Theresa into the kitchen. "Mom, look who I found." As her mother stood to hug Ryan, she added, "I'll go get him."

"Ryan! It's so good to see you! Where have you been?" She looked up and noticed Lindsay. "And who is this?" she asked warmly.

"I'm Lindsay."

"It's nice to meet you."

Theresa returned with Arturo. He and Ryan greeted each other with some weird handshake that both Lindsay and Theresa rolled their eyes at. Arturo waved politely at Lindsay, before turning back to Ryan. "The car's out back."

Ryan looked at his old house bitter-sweetly. He let himself get lost in the memories -the few good ones he had- for a moment as he just stared at it.

What he didn't know was that someone was staring back at him.

* * *

Marissa stormed out of the Wards' house after another fight with Luke, and within seconds she had peeled out of the driveway and was headed to the Cohens' house.

_"Luke, maybe I should be with my dad today. It's his first Thanksgiving without my mom, and I don't want him to be alone."_

_"He's not alone. He's with the Cohens."_

_"Yeah, but they aren't family."_

_Luke noticed that Marissa was avoiding his eyes, like she had something on her mind that she wasn't going to share with him. "Maybe not, but the Cohens love extending their family." His glare told her exactly who he was talking about._

_"Why do you hate him so much? What did he ever do to you?"_

_"He tried to take you away from me!" _And Holly, _he thought._

_"No he didn't!"_

_"Marissa!"_

_"Even if he did try, he didn't succeed, did he? Come on, this isn't about him, it's about my dad."_

_"Of course it's about him. Ever since he got here, it has always been about him. Just go."_

_"Luke, don't-"_

_"Go. I don't want you here." __Tears welled up in her eyes and he had to look away from her. In a more gentle voice, he said, "Go be with your dad. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"_

_"Fine." She left angrily, slamming the door to be sure he knew he'd have to make this up to her._

When she got to the Cohens' house and discovered that Ryan wasn't there, she felt a twinge of disappointment. She knew Luke was right, but she didn't want to keep having feelings for Ryan. She sat down beside her dad and made a promise to herself that she would get over him somehow.

* * *

Except for Ryan nearly getting his ass beaten, the delivery of the car went smoothly. On the way home Lindsay asked him about Trey and his life in Chino.

"When I was little, I thought Trey was the coolest guy in the world. I wanted to do everything just like him. But as we got older, things changed. He thought I was too much of a mama's boy."

"Snoopy is a mama's boy, huh?"

Ryan laughed, knowing that she would tease him mercilessly about that. "He always teased me for that too...but he was always there in the crowd, cheering embarrassingly loudly."

Lindsay looked at the smile on Ryan's face and couldn't help but smile herself. After he was quiet for a moment, she said, "I always wished I'd had a brother or sister. Or a father, for that matter."

"Have you asked your mom about him?"

"Yeah, but she won't tell me much. Just that I'm better off without him."

Instinctively Ryan reached over and placed his hand over hers, squeezing it reassuringly. The rest of the car ride was quiet. As they pulled in to the driveway, Ryan looked over at her and smiled. "Thanks for coming with me."

"Don't mention it. It was fun."

"Driving around stolen cars is your idea of fun?"

"I'm trying to expand my interests."

They walked back to the pool house, not quite ready to face the questions everyone would have about Ryan's black eye. He threw the door open and glanced up to see that there were two people, not fully dressed, on his bed.

Summer shrieked and shoved Seth on the floor. He landed with a thud, and Ryan, who had been frozen in place, retreated, closing the door. "Sorry!" he called back.

He looked at Lindsay, who giggled and blushed. They heard shuffling inside, before Seth pulled open the door. "Hey Ryan, buddy, what's up? How was Chino?"

Ryan and Lindsay laughed at Seth's disheveled appearance. "It was good."

"We had fun," Lindsay added.

"But um," Ryan cleared his throat. "Clearly not as much fun as you had today."


	12. Secrets and Disasters

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! It really helps to keep me motivated!

* * *

"Your class presentations will account for one third of your final grade, along with your term paper and of course, the final exam. I'll be dividing the class into pairs and each pair will be responsible for presenting a detailed account of a pivotal event or period in European history. I've already had quite a few partnership requests." Ryan glanced up and saw Marissa and Luke smile at each other. "However, in all fairness to the other students, I will select the teams myself at random. Lauren and Kenny, the French Revolution. Ryan and Luke, the Spanish Inquisition. Stephanie and Bobbie, the Protestant Reformation..." Ryan whipped his head up, afraid that he had heard correctly. One look at Luke's face told him that he had.

After class, Luke approached Ryan so they could swap phone numbers. "Do you want to come over and work on it today? Get this over with?"

Determined to make the best of this, Ryan half-smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Here's my address." Luke handed him a slip of paper with an address and phone number scribbled on it. "Does four work for you?"

"Yeah."

* * *

"So you're really entering the belly of the beast?"

"Come on Seth, it won't be that bad."

"Dude, have you forgotten your first night in Newport?"

"Maybe things will be different. I highly doubt he's going to try to beat me up. He's dreading this as much as I am, but we can't avoid it forever."

"Maybe not, but you can for right now. Besides, wouldn't it be safer to meet at your house on your own turf? Or at school where there's other people around? Besides, you can't go tonight. We've got the first Comic Book Club meeting."

"There's a club?"

"There is now." Seth smiled and handed Ryan a stack of papers. "Hand these out to everyone you see. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go talk to Summer."

After she read the flyer, she looked up at him. "No way Cohen. Just because we're...you know...I'm not going to your stupid-"

"Hey, let me see that." Zach grabbed the flyer from her. "Sweet man, I'll be there." He was gone as quickly as he appeared, leaving Seth and Summer in an awkward silence.

After a moment, Seth spoke. "Because we're...what?"

"We're...I don't know, Cohen, what are we?"

"If Thanksgiving was any indication..."

"Temporary laps in judgement," she smirked.

"So you're still in denial I see. Do you want to do something this weekend? Not a date exactly..."

"What did you have in mind?"

"You know, just friends hanging out. You, me, and other people. Or something like that."

"Okay, sure."

"Really?" He grinned. "Okay great. Saturday at seven?"

"Works for me. And Cohen?"

"Yeah?"

"If this is just a scheme to get me alone at your house, I won't hesitate to use my martial arts skills on you."

Seth was about to make a comment on the kinky implications of that threat, but he thought better of it.

* * *

After an awkward introduction to Luke's family, Luke finally appeared. The family was definitely not what he would have guessed and he was surprised at how friendly Luke's dad was.

"Ryan, keep him on his toes please. Luke, USC vs. Dame this Saturday. I thought we'd drive up around noon, tail gate."

"Yeah, cool."

"Ryan, I don't know if you're a Trojan man, but it's gonna be a good game. You're more than welcome." Trojan man? Ryan choked down a laugh and politely declined.

He followed Luke up the stairs and felt a little nervous when he went in to his room.

"So, how do you want to do this?"

"Uh, I don't know, I was thinking-"

"Cause I got a bunch of books from the library and I pulled some stuff off the web. I was thinking we could do like a screen show on my power book," Luke was rambling in a way that would rival Seth and Ryan just stared at him. "My dad's got a film scanner at the office, color laser jet, power point. We could pull some stuff here and then head over there."

Ryan looked a little stunned and didn't say anything.

"You know, or not."

"No, yeah that sounds good." He let his eyes wander around the room and his eyes landed on a picture of Luke and Marissa.

Luke followed Ryan's eyes. "I'm sorry I was such an ass to you."

"No, I get it."

"So you must have really liked her."

Ryan looked at Luke for some clue to less than sincere intentions, but didn't find any. "I did really like her, but you and Marissa-"

"I was talking about Holly."

"Holly?"

"Yeah well, it takes someone pretty special to get your mind off of Marissa. She's hard to forget."

"Holly and I aren't...we never were."

Luke frowned in confusion. "You didn't hook up with her at that party?"

"I was drunk. I think she was too. We just kissed."

"But I've seen you guys at school."

Ryan was getting really uncomfortable, but Luke was clearly waiting for an explanation. "I think she was just trying to make some other guy jealous."

Luke took in Ryan's words and it became painfully clear. He wasn't sure if he was angry with her, or if he was flattered. "I see. Well, let's go."

* * *

Seth sat at a table by himself and Zach ran up to him. "Hey Cohen, sorry I'm late."

"You really want to join the comic book club?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I?"

"Hey guys." They both turned to see Anna standing there. She sat down beside Zach and made herself comfortable. "What did I miss?"

"Um, nothing, I was just going to see if Zach wanted to take the minutes."

"The minutes?" Zach questioned.

"Yeah, we need to keep an attendance record. Make sure we're growing." Zach studied Seth's face to see if he was serious and found that he was.

"Seth really enjoys turning people on to comics," Anna interjected.

"Okay..." He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled down their names.

Seth and Anna exchanged an awkward glance. "So this is going to be _awesome_."

Zach reached under the table and found Anna's hand. He squeezed it reassuringly and smiled at her.

* * *

Ryan found himself sitting in one of the car's at Luke's dad's dealership, and he was actually enjoying hanging out with him. They talked about school, music, soccer, or whatever else came to mind.

Mr. Ward came in with another man. "Hey, there's my dad's business partner Gus. Let's go say hi." Ryan smiled at Luke's enthusiasm and felt a twinge of envy. He'd never had a close relationship with his father. He'd hardly had a relationship with him at all.

The boys got out of the car, and headed towards the office. They watched as Carson smiled at Gus and stepped oddly close to him. Luke's head tilted in confusion. As the two men kissed, he froze, and Ryan looked between them and Luke, trying to figure out what was going on and what to do.

An alarm sounded, and the boys realized that one of them had set it off. They scrambled to gather their notebooks and Luke glared at Ryan. "If you tell anyone-"

"I won't," Ryan assured him, seeing the fear in his eyes. They hurried out of there.

As soon as there were a few blocks from the dealership, Luke regarded him coldly. "I'll drop you off, but let's call it a night."

"Yeah, sure. We'll finish later."

The car ride was silent and tense, and Ryan was relieved when they finally reached his house. Of all the possible ways he'd imagined this evening going, that was definitely not even close to one of them.

* * *

The next day in class, Luke refused to look at him, and he hardly spoke to anyone, even Marissa. She kept looking between the boys, hoping that they would offer some explanation of what had happened. After class, Marissa cornered Ryan.

"Okay, what happened last night?"

"What do you mean?" Ryan figured that if Luke wanted Marissa to know, he would tell her. He wasn't about to say anything.

"You guys are both acting really weird. Are you and Luke at each other's throats again? He and I talked about this and I thought he was-"

So she thought this was about her, figures. Then again, it always has been, so what else would it be about? "No, we aren't fighting."

"Then what's going on? He won't talk to me; he'll hardly even look at me." She was pleading and looking very concerned and for a brief moment, Ryan considered telling her.

But he just couldn't. "I don't know."

She placed her hand on her hip and sighed with frustration. "You really suck at lying, Ryan."

He'd always valued honesty, but for once, he really wished he could lie well. "Talk to Luke."

"But he won't..."

He turned to her and looked her squarely in the eye. "Then neither will I."

* * *

"Ryan!" Seth called, speedwalking to catch up with him.

He and Lindsay stopped. "What's up?"

"I have a date with Summer tomorrow night."

"Awesome, good luck." Ryan turned to walk away, but he knew that wouldn't be the end of it.

"I need help."

"No argument here."

"Hey Lindsay, did you know that Ryan's funny now? Okay, but seriously, I need you guys to come over."

"Why? Do you need a chaperone or something?"

"Well, see, I sort of told Summer that this would be a group hang. Not exactly a date."

"And you just assumed that I would be free on a Saturday night?"

"Aren't you?"

Sometimes Ryan hated it when Seth was right. "Point taken. Why did you tell Summer it would be a group hang?"

"I've never been on a date before! I don't know what to say, how to act. I'm going to need you to back me up."

"You went on dates with Anna."

"Yeah, but..." Seth shrugged.

Ryan nodded in understanding. "Okay, I'll be there."

Seth looked hopefully at Lindsay. "Okay, sure."

Seth caught both of them off guard by hugging them. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

After Seth walked away, Ryan and Lindsay got into her car. "So what exactly is a group hang?" she asked.

Ryan shrugged. "Don't know. Probably just a gathering of friends, but maybe later we peel off and make out." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully and she swatted his shoulder. "Or not."

Lindsay could feel the blush in her cheeks. "Maybe you could show me how to play video games."

"Pirates, Ninjas, or Grand-Theft Auto?"

"Decisions, decisions," she sighed happily.

* * *

"Hey Holly. It's so good to see a friendly face."

She turned to him and regarded him coldly. "I've got to go. Brad's waiting for me."

Luke looked like he'd just been punched in the stomach. "But I need to talk to you about something."

She sighed. "What?"

"I talked to Ryan, and I know."

"You know what?"

"I know that you were trying to make me jealous, and it's just...I like you. A lot. Marissa and I are pretty much over, and if-"

"I'm not doing this," she cut him off, crossing herarms over her chest. "Not anymore."

As she walked away, he grabbed her elbow, whirling her around to face him. "What are you saying?"

A couple of girls walked by whispering and giggling, glancing up at Luke. Holly's silence left no need for words.

"I'm out of here."

* * *

At the end of the day, Luke got home as quickly as possible, only to find his mother in tears, his brothers silent, and his father frantically trying to comfort his mother. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

When he saw Ryan, he turned away without saying anything, but left the door open. Soon he felt slim arms wrap around him, and jumped before he realized it was Marissa.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ryan asked.

Luke looked at him pointedly. "I think you've done enough. Who'd you tell?"

"I didn't-"

"Yeah? Then how the hell does _everyone _know?"

Marissa put a hand on Luke's shoulder trying to calm him down, but he shook her off and lunged at Ryan.

"Luke!" His mother's voice caught his attention as she rushed into the room. "What on earth are you doing?"

"He told everyone."

"I wouldn't-"

"But you did! How else would everyone know?"

"Sweetie, calm down. I told a few of my friends this morning after your father told me."

Luke's face twisted in pain. He mumbled, "Sorry," to Ryan then turned to run up the stairs, tears springing to his eyes.

* * *

Marissa dropped Ryan off at his house and he quickly showered and got ready for the evening. Before he could finish getting dressed, the doorbell rang. He threw on pants and wifebeater before answering the door.

Lindsay stood on the porch looking even prettier than usual. "I'm not quite ready yet, but come on in."

She followed him in to the house and leaned in the doorway to his bedroom. "So where did you run off to after school?"

"Luke's."

Lindsay nodded in understanding. "He must be going through a lot right now."

"Yeah." He snapped on his black leather wrist cuff and splashed on a little bit of cologne. The phone rang and Ryan sighed. "We'll be there soon Seth." He hung up before anything more could be said and Lindsay just grinned.

"Do you think he'll make it through tonight?"

Ryan laughed. "I hope so. He's been pining for Summer for way too long."

"Yeah, he mentioned that he's like her since...I don't know, forever?"

"Pretty much. And now she's finally giving him the time of day. When I first met her, she seemed like such a bitch."

Lindsay crinkled her nose. "Yeah, she does come off that way at first."

"I guess Seth could see something beyond that in her." He locked eyes with her and she could only hold his intense gaze for a few moments.

"I guess so."

When they got to the Cohen's house, Seth practically dragged them inside. "Where have you guys been?"

"Seth, we're five minutes early."

"But what if Summer had gotten here and-"

Ryan put his hands on Seth's shoulders. "Calm down. She's just a girl. She won't bite."

Seth took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay, you're right. Just a girl...a girl I've been dreaming about for as long as I can remember, but still, just a girl."

"Why don't we go sit down and relax?" Lindsay suggested.

"So what are we doing for this 'group hang'?" Ryan asked.

"Well, I rented a few movies that Marissa told me she would like, and we can always go swimming or head down to the beach. Nothing special I guess, but I'm new to this whole dating thing."

When Summer arrived a few minutes later, Seth nearly went in to panic mode, but Ryan and Lindsay refused to let him. The group decided to watch a movie first. Seth and Summer sat on the couch, Lindsay sat in the chair and Ryan sat on the floor in front of her.

About 20 minutes in to the movie, Summer moved over to Seth's side of the couch, picked up his arm, and placed it around her shoulders. Seth spent the next half hour contemplating his next move. She leaned her head on his shoulder and snuggled closer to him.

Ryan got up to get another soda. "Anyone else want anything?"

All three of them shouted what they wanted, and Lindsay stood up and followed Ryan. "I'll help you." When they were out of earshot of Seth and Summer, she added, "I think those lovebirds would like some alone time."

Ryan glanced into the living room and watched Summer snuggling against Seth. "I think you're right." They returned with the drinks. "Hey guys, we were thinking it'd be a nice night to take a swim, so...we're going to do that."

Seth looked at Ryan and raised his eyebrows playfully. "Okay. Maybe we'll join you after the movie."

Ryan and Lindsay went to the pool house. "Did you bring a swim suit?" Ryan asked.

"Crap, I forgot about that."

"It's okay, I bet Kirsten has something that will fit you. Come on." They went back inside and upstairs to Sandy and Kirsten's room.

Lindsay was surprised that he knew what drawer to find them in. "How did you know that that's where she keeps her swimsuits?" she asked with a giggle.

"Well, when I first got here, I didn't have one either, so I borrowed one of Sandy's."

She pulled out one with a tropical floral print. "I just can't see you in something like this."

"Oh yeah?" he challenged.

"Yeah."

He grinned and snatched the trunks from her and went to the bathroom to change. Lindsay continued her search through Kirsten's suits until she found one that looked like it would fit. It was a bikini and she rarely wore bikinis, but it would have to do.

When Ryan came out, she looked him up and down appraisingly. "Nice."

"I thought so. Did you find one?"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go..." he watched as she disappeared behind the bathroom door to change.

A picture on the dresser caught his eye. At first, he thought it was Lindsay with blonde hair, but after doing a double take, he realized that it was a young Kirsten with Hailey. He heard the door open behind him. "Hey Lindsay? Come look at this."

"What is it?" She looked at the picture, then back to Ryan, confused. "Is this Kirsten?"

"I guess so."

"It's a really cute picture, but Ryan, what exactly am I looking at?"

"You don't see it?" She looked at him blankly. "Don't you think that she looks a little like someone we know?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Well, she and Seth really don't look alike at all, so-"

"You. She looks like you."

"She does?" She studied it more closely. "I guess a little bit."

"A little bit? You could be twins, except for the hair color."

Lindsay rolled her eyes, taking the picture out of Ryan's hands and placing it back on the dresser. "Come on, let's go."

For the first time since she'd returned, Ryan looked at her bikini clad body as she walked away from him. "I'm right behind you, babe."

Lindsay grinned when she heard the desire in his voice.

Downstairs, the movie credits were rolling and Seth tried to think of something to stay. "Do you want to go swimming with them?"

Summer shook her head. "No. I'm hungry. Let's go get some food."

"Okay, where do you want to go?"

She shrugged. "Surprise me."

They headed to a restaurant on the outskirts of Newport, and when they were almost there, they felt something snap underneath the car as it started shaking.

"What was that?"

"I have no idea." Seth pulled over and got out of the car to find that the left front tire had blown out. He sighed with frustration. "One of the tires blew out."

"Can you fix it?"

Seth looked at the tire which was already shredded and winced. "I think it's beyond repair."

"I mean can you put on the spare? Asshat."

"The spare? Um...hold on just a second." He called Ryan's cell phone, praying that he would pick up.

"Hello?"

"I need your help."

"Again?"

"One of the tires on the car blew out, and I have no idea how to put on the spare. Can you talk me through it?"

"Do you want me to just come do it?" He didn't want to leave Lindsay, but he didn't know if it would be possible to talk Seth through it.

Seth opened the back end of the car and looked through the kit of tools his dad kept in there. He was completely out of his league here. "Yeah, if that's okay. It's not like Summer's ever going to go out with me again after this anyway."

"It's just a flat tire."

"No, after you and Lindsay left, I tried to...you know, make a move. I must have been misreading the signals, because I thought-"

"What move did you make?"

"We were kissing. I know I was doing something wrong. I'm a little lacking in the experience department here. Anyway, I went to put my hand on her waist and I sort of missed."

"You missed? How do you miss?"

"Dude, I have no idea, but I did. She pushed me back and told me to keep it in my pants. I tried to tell her I didn't mean to, but I don't think she believed me."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. So I think the chances of getting another date with her are slim to none."

"She hasn't asked you to take her home early though, has she?"

"Well, no."

"Then just relax and try not to get fresh with her again tonight."

"Okay, you're right. So I'll see you in a few?"

"Yeah." He hung up and watched Lindsay as she swam laps in the pool. He jumped in and swam to her, grabbing her foot from behind her and pulling her back to him.

"Ryan! You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry."

"Are not."

"True. Look, I have to go help Seth out with the car. Do you want to stay here or come with me?"

"You think I'm letting you drive my car?"

Ryan frowned. He hadn't thought about the fact that he had no means of transportation. "So you'll come with me."

An hour later, they returned to the Cohen's house. "That was fun. Wanna get back in the pool?"

"Actually, I was thinking the hot tub sounded pretty good," Ryan replied. He let out a groan as he lowered his body in to the hot water. "This is amazing."

Lindsay giggled and sat across from him. "Are you sore?"

"A little," he admitted, stretching the muscles in his back.

"Here." She moved over so she was next to him and turned him so his back was to her. She knew that what she was about to do would only fuel her fantasies about Ryan, but she just didn't care anymore. She started kneading the tense muscles and his head fell forward, giving her access to more of his skin. "This okay?"

He nodded and let out a pleasured moan, surrendering to her touch as she continued to work her way over his back. "Just don't stop." The tension faded away, as her fingers ran through his hair, massaging his scalp. They trailed down along his spine to his lower back, and when her fingertips brushed his stomach, he reacted in a way that he wasn't expecting, he pulled away.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He hesitantly turned around to face her and he couldn't stop his eyes from landing on her partially exposed breasts. Tiny drops of water ran down the valley between them and when he noticed her nipples showing through the suit, he bit his lip and forced himself to look away. "Nothing, I just...I think we should probably get out. It's really hot in here and you know it's not good for you to stay in hot tubs for too long."

She looked at him quizzically. "Okay."

He pulled himself out of the water. "I'll go grab towels." He disappeared in to the pool house and returned with a towel wrapped around him and handed the other one to her. "I'm going to change in the pool house. Meet me downstairs when you're ready."

* * *

When Ryan got home that night, his mom was asleep. When she got up to go to work, he was still sleeping, and he looked so peaceful. She didn't want to wake him. She scribbled a note and left it on his bedside table, then kissed his forehead. The change had been very difficult for her but it was so worth it that she kicked herself for not doing it sooner. When she walked out the front door, she ran into the last person she wanted to see.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"Baby, don't be like that. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Dawn softened. "I appreciate that, but-"

"And to see if you wanted to start over."

Her head was beginning to throb. "AJ, I can't do this. Me and Ry, we're finally on our feet. I can't risk that."

"You let that little shit run your life."

"Do _not _talk about my son like that!" She was so proud to finally have the courage to stand up for Ryan, even though it would never erase the abuse she had stood by and watched. "This isn't just about Ryan, this is about my life."

When Lindsay appeared on her porch and picked up the newspaper, she looked over at them and waved. Dawn waved back and AJ smiled through gritted teeth before yanking Dawn inside and shoving her against the wall. "Your life is with me."

Fear and heartache caused tears to spring to her eyes, and after a minute of tense silence, she found her voice. "Not anymore. Go."

"I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you."

Dawn glanced over his shoulder and saw Lindsay on the front porch, trying to decide if she should leave or interrupt whatever was going on. "Lindsay! Hi sweetie, come on in!" Dawn called to her, trying to sound casual.

AJ pulled back from Dawn, and tenderly kissed her cheek. He then smiled at Lindsay and said good-bye. "I'll see you later Dawn. You can count on it."

"Who was that?" Lindsay asked after he was gone.

"Oh, just an old friend dropping by to say hi. Ryan's still asleep and I've got to get to work, but I'll let him know you dropped by, okay?"

Lindsay smiled, unsure of what she'd seen. "Okay, thanks Mrs. Atwood."


	13. Family Drama

Ryan woke up with a headache. Unable to sleep, he'd been analyzing the night's events for hours. He couldn't figure out how he felt, and he definitely didn't know how Lindsay felt. Obviously he was attracted to her, but did he really like her? And could a girl like Lindsay possibly like a guy like him? And even if he did like her and she liked him, maybe hooking up wasn't a good idea. He'd already dated the girl next door, and it hadn't exactly turned out well.

Frustrated and confused, he picked up his phone and decided he'd call Marissa and see how Luke was doing. _Just to see how Luke is_, he told himself.

"Hello?"

"Hey Marissa. It's Ryan."

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Oh hey! What's up?"

He had hoped that somehow, hearing her voice would either confirm his feelings for her, or confirm that he had none. "I was just wondering how Luke was doing with everything."

"He's okay," Marissa replied, with a twinge of disappointment. "I mean, considering everything...he's speaking to his dad again, so that's a plus."

"Yeah. How are you and your dad getting along?"

"Good. We're slowly rebuilding trust. He seems to be okay with the fact that my mom's with Caleb. Which is just gross. So anyway, how was your date last night?"

"It wasn't a date, it was a _group hang._"

"Uh huh." He couldn't tell if her tone was teasing, or jealous. Probably both. As he remembered his time with Lindsay, it struck him that he didn't care what Marissa thought. Not anymore.

"Well, um, I just wanted to see how Luke was...so I'll see you Monday?"

"Yeah, see you Monday."

* * *

On Monday morning, when Ryan got into Lindsay's car, she tried to read him. Sometimes it seemed like he liked her. She caught him staring at her on a regular basis now, but he wasn't making a move. Ryan didn't seem like the kind of guy who would be shy around girls, so maybe he really wasn't interested in her.

After exchanging pleasantries, there was a heavy silence in the car. Lindsay hoped Ryan would say something, because she just didn't know what to say. Finally he did. "So, um…did you uh…" he cleared his throat. "Did you get the reading done?"

"Most of it. Towards the end I just kept nodding off, so I finally gave up. What about you?"

"I couldn't really concentrate on it."

When they arrived at school, they walked together silently until they got to the lounge. "I have to go find Brad and talk to him about our lab report. See you at lunch?"

"Yeah." Ryan watched her retreating form and when she met with Brad, he was shocked to see them smiling at each other and laughing. Hadn't she said he was everything that was wrong with Newport?

"Ryan, isn't a little early for this heavy level of brooding?" Seth asked, sitting down beside him. He followed his gaze, and smirked. "I guess not. But I really need some advice. What do I say to Summer when I see her?"

"You know her better than I do."

"Yes, but you know _women_ much better than me."

Ryan shrugged, spotting Summer across the room. "You better think fast."

"Should I go to her, or wait for her to come to me? I should play it cool, right?"

"Are you even capable of playing it cool?"

"Sure." Ryan looked at him skeptically. "Good point, I'll go." Seth caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back, but then turned and walked away before Seth could catch up to her.

Ryan knew he'd be getting an ear full at lunch that day, and he was right.

"I can't believe she's just ignoring me! How could she do that?"

Ryan shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she's playing hard to get."

"Is that what you're doing to Lindsay?"

"I'm not doing anything to Lindsay. We're friends. There's no way a girl like her-"

"What do you mean 'a girl like her'?"

"You know, smart, funny… and she's got this really sexy innocence about her."

"She's also completely into you. And judging by your description of her, you quite obviously like her too."

Ryan sighed. "I've just...never been with a girl like her before. I wouldn't know what to do, how to act."

"You mean you wouldn't know what to do if you weren't having sex?" Seth found himself on the receiving end of one of Ryan's infamous glares. "Okay, sorry, I just thought-"

"It's okay. It's just, just because I'm from Chino doesn't mean-"

"No, yeah, I get it. It just seems like you are really confident in that area. So have you _ever_ slept with a girl?"

Ryan's only response was a glare and a raised eyebrow.

* * *

When Ryan got to english class, Marissa looked zoned out until she saw him. "Ryan, hey!"

"Hey."

"Do you know when our test is?"

"Not sure." He pulled out his planner and flipped through it. "I can't believe it's almost Christmas already."

"Yeah. It seems like school just started. I haven't even started my Christmas shopping."

"Christmas shopping," Ryan stated, as if the concept was odd to him. "Haven't done that in a long time."

"Well then, you could use the help of an expert." She gave him a flirty smile.

"I don't know..."

"You should get something special for your mom. And Lindsay." When Ryan didn't reply, she continued, "We'll go today after school."

"I don't think Luke would be too happy about that."

"Why not? You guys are friends now, right?"

"Yeah, and I don't want to screw that up. Go with Luke or Summer. If I need help, I'll ask Seth."

"Summer won't stop talking about Seth and Luke is spending as much time as possible hiding out. Wait, you're going to ask Seth for gift-giving advice?"

Ryan considered this briefly. "Or Kirsten. Or my mom, or Lindsay. I'll figure it out."

Marissa silently admitted defeat. "Sure, okay." She was feeling more and more alone. Summer was too busy worrying about Seth, and Luke was moping about his family...not that she couldn't sympathize...but she just wanted to forget it all, just for a little while.

* * *

As soon as she got home from school, she took a bottle of vodka and drove to the pier. She remembered how carefree she'd felt just a few months ago, and now her whole life seemed to be falling apart.

She was angry. Angry at her mom for leaving her dad, her dad for stealing all that money, Summer for not being there, Ryan for rejecting her (or maybe at herself for choosing Luke), and Luke for not being Ryan. She stayed there, just drinking and staring out at the water until after dark. She groaned when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Marissa? What's wrong with you?"

Julie Cooper was the last person she wanted to deal with. "What do you want, Mom?"

"I was just making sure you were going to come to the Christmas party this weekend."

"Yeah, right." She snapped her phone shut before her mom could argue. As she drove home, things became blurry. It was only a few miles, and there wasn't anyone she could call. But then there was a loud crash and everything around her went black.

She woke up to the voice of her mother. "What are we going to do with her, Jimmy? She's out of control!"

"She is going through a lot right now."

"I should call that clinic in San Diego."

"No, we're not shipping her off."

"What choice do we have? She's not only drinking enough to kill a horse, she's driving!"

Marissa opened her eyes and found her father standing beside her. She reached out and touched his hand, causing him to jump. "Hey Kiddo! You're awake! We were so worried about you."

"I'm so sorry Dad." She didn't remember what happened but judging by what her parents were saying and the fact that she was in a hospital, she was guessing she'd crashed. "I was so dumb, I wasn't thinking-"

"Why didn't you just call me to come pick you up?"

She didn't answer, but it was obvious to all of them. "I'm sorry."

Julie sat down beside her on the bed, and took her hand. "Sweetie, you need help."

Marissa's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a wonderful rehabilitation center-"

"No!" she shouted causing both of her parents to jump. "I'm not going anywhere."

"What if she saw a counselor here in Newport?" Jimmy suggested.

Julie glared at him. "We'll discuss this later."

* * *

Tears welled up in Dawn's eyes as she knocked on the Cohen's door. The moment Kirsten saw her, she was filled with worry. "Dawn? What's wrong? Is everything okay? Is Ryan okay?"

"No, no, Ryan's fine." She looked Kirsten in the eye and saw nothing but concern and compassion. "I have to leave."

"What? I thought things were going so well."

"They are. Well, they were. One of my exes found out where we live and he's making threats...I can't put myself or Ryan at risk like that."

"So you're leaving."

She nodded. "Honestly I don't know where I'm going, but I have to get out of here. Quickly."

"What about Ryan?"

Dawn took a deep breath. "He's doing so well at school and if he keeps going the way he is, he'll really be able to make something of himself. He deserves that."

Kirsten nodded, her heart breaking for this woman. "You want Ryan to stay here."

"I know you and your family were so good to him while I was getting my life together. If he's here, I'll know I'm leaving him in good hands."

"What does he think about this?"

"I haven't told him yet, but I can tell how he feels about you guys. I know this is what he would want, though I don't think he'd ever admit that to me." She smiled sadly.

"Okay." Kirsten's quick response surprised both her and Dawn. "We'd be happy to have him."

* * *

After much complaining, Marissa agreed to go to therapy. She sat in the waiting room, nervously flipping through a magazine, while a boy sat across from her staring at her unnervingly.

"I came here three times before I actually walked through that door. I know you, you go to Harbor right?"

She nodded at him nervously even though she didn't recognize him. "Marissa Cooper. Hi."

"Yeah, you're the girl at school who organizes things. Parties and stuff, right?"

She fidgeted in her chair. "Social chair is what that's called. You go to Harbor?"

"No, no. I go to Pacific. Oliver Trask." He grinned widely. "For a social chair, you aren't very social. We're going to have to talk to somebody about a recall."

"This is a psychiatrist's office," she said so softly it was almost a whisper. "It's kind of embarrassing."

"Yeah, you're right, this is totally embarrassing. So let's discuss the obvious and move on. What's wrong with you?"

Marissa looked at him wondering if she'd heard him right. He repeated himself and she sighed. "Well, if I knew I wouldn't be here."

He folded his hands and eyed her. "You're not an alcoholic...at least not yet. You've probably OD'ed on pills at some point, but maybe they don't know about that. But you wound up in the hospital and your parents flipped out? Car accident? Alcohol poisoning?"

Her eyes widened. "Both, actually."

"And you didn't want to hurt yourself, you just wanted to escape. Kurt Cobain? Yeah, he wanted to hurt himself."

She was beginning to relax a little. "You know, coming here wasn't my idea."

"Maybe not, but you wouldn't be here if you didn't want to be. You want to know why you are the way you are."

She shrugged. A door opened and a woman stepped out smiling kindly at her.

"That's you. I'm waiting on the other door. See you next week."

* * *

Ryan arrived home after spending all afternoon shopping. He'd picked out a necklace for his mother, but he didn't have anything for anyone else. He poked his head into his mom's room to tell her he was home.

"Ry," she said his name affectionately, standing up to embrace him.

"Mom, is everything-"

She shook her head. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

She gestured for him to sit down. She could hardly bring herself to say the words and they came out in a rush. "AJ came here last week."

"How did he know where we were? Did you call him? Are you going back to him? Mom, we've been doing so well-"

"I know, baby, I know. I don't know how he knows where we live, but he does. I'm not going back to him, but he's not going to just give up."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm leaving, Ry."


	14. New Beginnings

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I sort of lost inspiration for this one. And then the file got deleted and then today I found it! I've tweaked all the chapters, but no major changes. So here is the last chapter of Girl Next Door, at least for now.

* * *

"We're moving? But we're finally building a life here."

Dawn tentatively took a step towards Ryan. "No. _We're_ not moving. I am. I want you to stay here."

He looked at her like a puppy who'd been kicked. "You're leaving again?" _You're leaving _me_ again? _The room started spinning and his first thought was to run from her. To turn his back, walk out the door, and never look back. But her pleading voice stopped him.

"No baby, it's not like that. I wish I could stay here with you, but I can't."

"So I'll go with you."

Dawn shook her head, fighting back tears. "You're doing so well in school, and you've made some wonderful friends. You're doing good for yourself, Ry, and I won't let you give that up. Besides, I'll be back to visit all the time, and you can come visit me too."

"Where are you going?"

"I called Ted-"

"Uncle Ted? I thought you guys weren't on speaking terms."

"We are now. I'm going to stay with him and his wife while I get back on my feet."

Ryan knew that for his mother to swallow her pride and go to Ted must have been rather difficult, and she'd never been one to avoid taking the easy way out. Things were changing; his mother was changing. And for the first time in years, he trusted that his mother was doing what was best for him. "Where am I going to live?"

"I talked to the Cohens. They're going to be your guardians."

Ryan sighed, his shoulders falling in defeat. "When are you leaving?"

"On the 26th."

"So at least you'll be here for Christmas."

"Yeah."

He nodded sadly, "Okay." He walked back to his room, softly closing the door behind him. He pulled the small box out of his drawer, sighing. She was leaving again, and this time, he couldn't even bring himself to be angry with her. She hadn't told him in a note, she wasn't leaving him to fend for himself, and since he'd moved back in with her, she'd been like a real mom. Before the last few months, he'd only had very vague memories of his mother like this- like a real mother. He wanted to go with her, but if she wanted him to stay with the Cohens, then he would. She'd promised to call and visit often. It would have to be enough.

* * *

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Ryan was in his room packing when he heard a crash from the kitchen.

"Mom?"

She smiled at him sheepishly, swooping down to pick up the ham that she planned to make for dinner that night. "It just jumped right out of my hands, Ry!" she laughed.

"Let me do this. You should stick to something a little um, safer. Like salad?"

She hugged him and kissed his cheek. He jokingly winced before she wiped the smudge of lipstick off his face. "Okay."

They worked together in the kitchen for hours. The feast was probably enough to serve ten people, but neither of them gave it a second thought. Dawn had turned on a Christmas CD and was singing along loudly. Ryan simply ducked his head to hide his laughter. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had this much fun with his mother.

Later that night, after they'd eaten dinner and the dishes had been washed, they sat together in the living room. The small tree in the corner of the room had two packages underneath it, and the glowing lights warmed the entire room. Ryan knelt down and picked up both of the packages, handing the small one to his mother.

"You first," he said to her.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Ry."

"I wanted to."

She slid her fingernail under the paper, opening it without tearing it at all. When she saw that it was a jewelry box, she looked at Ryan surprised, but opened it. It was a gold necklace with a heart pendent on it and a diamond in the center. "Oh, baby, thank you. It's beautiful."

He blushed, but was relieved that she seemed to really like it. He helped her put it on and she thanked him again.

"Your turn, Ry." He picked up the box and opened his gift the same way she had opened hers. There were several items inside. First he found a pair of simple, dark blue slippers. "I got Trey a pair a few years ago and I know how you loved to borrow them."

Ryan laughed at the memory of Trey barging into their shared room, demanding to know where his slippers were. It seemed like an odd thing for both of the boys to be so fond of, but they had been. Trey's had been a forest green color and were a little too small for his feet, but after slipping this pair on, he found that they fit perfectly.

Dawn smiled and urged him on. "There's more."

Next he picked up was a Swiss army knife that he recognized as his dad's. He'd often asked his mother if he could have one of his own, but she'd always refused. He turned it over, looking closely at the engraving on the back. _Atwood._

"Wow."

"I know you always wanted one of your own..."

He grinned, thanking her again, and she told him there was one more thing. The last gift was a picture frame. In it was a picture of the Atwood family that had been taken when Ryan was about seven. He smiled widely, his two front teeth missing. His dad had one arm around his mom and her hand rested on Ryan's shoulder. Trey stood beside Dawn, leaning into her. They all looked so happy. It had been right before things started to go downhill.

For a moment, Ryan stared longingly at the photo. When he looked up at his mother, she was crying a little. "I just want you to know that becoming part of a new family doesn't make you any less a part of this one."

Ryan had felt tears prickling his eyes, but now one spilled down onto his cheek. "Thanks, mom."

* * *

Marissa was much less apprehensive about therapy after her first appointment. Oliver had sessions at the same time as she did and while she did find him a little weird, she also felt a connection to him.

"So what are your plans for New Year's?" he asked, putting down the magazine he'd been reading.

Marissa looked up at Oliver, still taken aback by him. "I don't know." She and Luke hadn't made any concrete plans yet. He'd been angry when he found out she was driving drunk and had insisted they avoid the party scene. But that was last thing she wanted to do.

"Well," he pulled a flier out of his jacket. "I'm having a party at my place. You should come."

"Maybe we will."

"You and your…friend?" Oliver raised an eyebrow at her hopefully, but it was lost on her.

"My boyfriend, Luke. For some reason he wants to stay in this year."

* * *

While Dawn finished packing, Lindsay drove Ryan to the Cohen's house. They were greeted warmly by Sandy and Kirsten.

"The pool house is yours if you want it, or we have an extra bedroom upstairs."

Ryan gave Kirsten a small smile. "I kind of like the pool house, if that's okay."

Seth came bouncing down the stairs wearing a sweater with reindeer on it. "Ryan! You're here! Now I know you gentiles are done with the holidays, but we Cohens are still in the midst of a little something that I like to call Chrismukkah." He pulled out a menorah with candy cane candles and placed it on the mantle. It was then that Ryan noticed a stocking with his name on it, right along with Sandy's, Kirsten's and Seth's. "We need to put the wreath on your door! Oh, and I think some holiday lights would give the pool house a more festive feel. Tomorrow we'll make the snacks. And by _we_ I mean you, me, and Dad, because Mom is not allowed near the food. What was I saying? Oh yeah, the story of Chrismukkah!"

Ryan and Lindsay were both gaping at Seth, wide-eyed. "Let's get your stuff in the pool house first," Lindsay spoke up, noticing that Ryan was really overwhelmed. "Seth, there's a few more boxes in the car if you want to help."

Seth shook his head. "Heavy lifting? That's not really my thing." After receiving a glare from his mother, Seth amended, "but I would love to assist in any way I can."

Lindsay smirked back at him as she and Ryan headed towards the pool house. He put away his clothes, which didn't take long. Most of them were things Kirsten had bought him while he was living with them. Lindsay organized Ryan's books in the shelf. Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth entered with all the remaining boxes, and Ryan looked at them and smiled, but it hardly concealed his sadness. "Thanks. You guys have been so great about everything."

Seth shifted eagerly. "You ready for a little play station?"

"Seth, let's give Ryan some time to get settled," Sandy interjected.

Ryan gave Sandy a grateful smile. As they walked out, Lindsay stood there awkwardly. "I'll leave; give you some space."

"No," he replied quickly, surprising both of them.

"No?"

"I mean, you don't have to leave yet, unless…you know, you want to." He looked down and Lindsay quickly crossed the room towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm going to miss living next door to you." She felt his arms tighten around her and she let herself relax and enjoy the moment.

"Me too." He buried his face in her neck and she felt warmth spread throughout her body. After a minute, he slowly pulled back, his face only a couple inches away from hers.

"But we'll still see each other at school," she rambled, feeling suddenly warm and flustered.

He nodded, a grin spreading across his face.

"And we can study together, or maybe hang out on the weekends-"

"Lindsay…"

She made a conscious effort to remain silent and watched him as his lips slowly moved towards hers.

The door flung open. "Hey Ryan!" Seth's voice broke the spell of the moment. "I thought you might want to keep some snacks out here. What kind of soda do you like? We need to go to the store!"

Lindsay smiled shyly at Ryan. "I should go."

"Wait! Um..."

She gave him a knowing look. "It's okay. I'll see you soon."

Marissa handed Luke the flier and after he scanned it, he tossed it carelessly onto the table. "We're not going."

"Why not?"

"You shouldn't be around alcohol. We'll stay here, maybe watch a movie, just hang out. Who is this Oliver guy, anyway?"

"I don't want to stay here and do nothing," she replied defiantly.

"Well, you're going to," Luke shot back in a tone that sounded a bit too fatherly, even to his own ears.

"Excuse me? Now you're telling me what to do?"

He sighed, running his hands over his face. "I just want you to be safe."

"I'll be safe there. If you decide to stop being an ass, join me." She handed him the flier again before storming out of the house.

"Cohen!" Summer yelled as she pounded on Seth's bedroom door.

"Summer?" he opened the door and she stormed in. "What's up?"

"What's up?" she asked with disbelief. She grabbed his pillow and hit him with it repeatedly. "You haven't called me!"

"Ow! What? I thought you didn't want me to call you, you know with the whole groping incident."

"The groping incident?" she asked. She would have completely forgotten it, had it not sent spine tingling feelings through her body. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I thought…" Seth struggled, "but you were ignoring me at school. I thought you were mad at me."

"So you just decided to hell with it? One little speed bump and you give up?"

Seth looked down, hoping to avoid a rage blackout. "What do you want me to do?"

"Don't give up so quickly," she replied harshly. Her features softened and she looked unsure of herself. She folded her hands together uncomfortably. "And I'm not really the best with this relationship stuff, but I like you."

"Well, I know this is sort of short notice, but if you don't already have plans tonight, there's a party at The Bait Shop. Do you want to go?"

* * *

Luke fought through the crowd of people as he searched for her. When his eyes landed on her, the first thing he noticed was the drink in her hand. The next thing he noticed was the guy she was talking to.

As he made his way towards them, he tried to calm down. He saw Marissa stumble back a little bit, losing her balance. The guy caught her arms, pulling her closer to him. For a moment they just stared at each other. Luke looked on miserably as their lips met. He hoped she would push him away, but she only pulled him closer.

"Marissa! What the hell?"

She and Oliver slowly turned to him, both clearly buzzed. "Luke...uh...this isn't..."

"You weren't making out with some guy after blowing me off on New Year's?" he yelled.

"Well, from what Marissa has told me, you certainly aren't the world's greatest boyfriend," Oliver added, smirking. "She deserves better."

Without a second thought, Luke punched Oliver in the jaw, sending him flying backwards.

"Luke!" Marissa quickly knelt down beside Oliver. "Are you okay?"

Luke watched in disbelief and turned to walk away.

"Where are you going? We need to talk about this!" Marissa called after him.

"No," he replied shaking his head. "There's nothing to talk about. We're done." He heard her sobs, but he was immune to it now.

About an hour into the party, Ryan and Lindsay finally managed to get passed the awkwardness between them caused by the anticipation. Ryan was still debating with himself about whether or not he would kiss her, but he realized that it was nearly eleven and they'd spent the whole evening together. And wasn't it tradition to kiss someone at midnight? Certainly he couldn't break tradition.

"How's it going with the Cohens?" she asked tentatively.

"Good. It's kind of cool having a brother that isn't drunk or high more often than not, and who doesn't just call me to get me to bail him out of jail."

"Yeah-"

"Ryan!" Marissa grabbed his shoulder, turning him to face her. She had streaks of mascara running down her cheeks, her eyes were bloodshot and she was slightly off balance. "I just wanted to tell you Happy New Year before I leave."

He looked at Lindsay who looked vaguely annoyed, but not angry. "Why are you leaving?"

"Luke and I had a fight. Broke up. I just can't be here now. I have to go home." She slurred and Ryan smelled the alcohol on her breath.

"Marissa, you can't drive home like this."

"Watch me."

"Marissa-"

"No, I'm fine. I'm going home."

"Why don't you just wait a little bit and ride home with someone?"

"Because I'm leaving now. See ya." She turned away and ran into someone, causing them to spill their drink on her. "Sorry," she mumbled, continuing to push her way through the crowd.

Ryan looked helplessly at Lindsay. He didn't want to leave, but if anything happened to Marissa on the ride home, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. "Go," she nodded at him. "Just be back by midnight." He smiled at her gratefully and pulled her to him, kissing her forehead, before he called out after Marissa.

* * *

Anna's eyes drifted to Seth and Summer as she leaned on the rail on the upper level of the Bait Shop. Seth had his arms around Summer and his chin rested on her shoulder while she leaned back into his embrace, content.

"You really liked him, didn't you?" A voice startled Anna and she smiled when she saw Zach.

"I guess," she shrugged. "But I'm over it."

Zach raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief.

"Okay, I'm almost over it. Just not when they're being all lovey dovey everywhere I look."

"For the record, I think Seth's an idiot. I mean, Summer's a really good friend of mine, but he was an idiot to let you go."

"Thanks." She stole a glance at the clock and was surprised to find that it was only a few minutes before midnight.

**

* * *

**

As he rushed in the door to the Bait Shop, he heard the chorus of shouts, "Happy New Year!" His eyes landed on Lindsay, standing upstairs, leaning over the rail, disappointment written all over her face. He ran to her as quickly as he could, and when he finally caught her attention, she looked at him uncertainly.

"I'm so sorry, I tried to get back, but the traffic-"

She shrugged, looking at the ground. "It's okay."

"No." He stepped forward so their bodies were only inches apart. "It's not." He placed his hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His lips brushed against hers softly, before he leaned back, gaging her reaction. Her eyes were dark as she stared at his mouth. As her hand came up to cup his cheek and her thumb traced his bottom lip, she pulled him down to her again, and this time there was no holding back. They'd waited too long for this. His hand held the back of her head, his fingers running through her hair, as he pulled her closer. His tongue nudged her lips apart, and she gasped, her hands moving to rest on his shoulders. She felt the power in his muscles and nearly moaned.

Several minutes after the rest of the crowd had resumed the party, Lindsay pulled away breathless. "Happy New Year."

He smiled at her, pulling her close and planting kisses on her neck. "Oh, it will be."

* * *

Fin, finally! Sorry it took me three and a half years to finish this!


End file.
